From Taiye Joseph, Ilorin
The Ilorin Division of the Court of Appeal, has dismissed an appeal filed by Alhaji Musa Lawal and others challenging the authority of the Asolo of Isolo-Opin, His Royal Highness Oba Raphael Sunday Are, over the status of Araromi in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The panel, comprising Justices Kenneth Amadi, Tunde Awotoye and Abdu Dogo, unanimously upheld the earlier judgment of the Kwara State High Court, delivered on June 23, 2021, which affirmed that Araromi is part and parcel of Isolo-Opin and cannot have a separate traditional ruler.
The dispute began when some members of the Adewale Lawal family and others purportedly appointed Alhaji Musa Lawal as the Olu of Araromi in 2017. This move was resisted by the Asolo, who approached the High Court relying on earlier judgments delivered in 1997 and affirmed by the Court of Appeal in 2000, which had settled the question of Araromi’s status.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Amadi held that the appellants failed to prove their case and that their arguments on boundary disputes and alleged compromises of past judgments were baseless.
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“There is no pleading to sustain the allegation of boundary dispute by the appellants. The lower court did not misapprehend the case, neither was there a denial of fair hearing,” he ruled.
Justice Awotoye, concurring, described the appeal as “devoid of merit,” while Justice Dogo said he found “no reason to interfere with the findings of the trial court.”
The court consequently dismissed the appeal and affirmed the authority of the Asolo of Isolo-Opin, restraining the appellants from parading or recognising anyone as Olu of Araromi.
This decision effectively puts to rest the long-standing tussle over traditional leadership in the Araromi-Opin community, reinforcing earlier rulings that there cannot be two traditional rulers in one community.
