The Irun-Akoko community in Akoko North East Local Government Area of Ondo State has strongly rejected what it described as a plot to polarise the town through the proposed recognition of one Hon. Olanrewaju Adeyemi as the “Owa Adimula” of a non-existent Oke-Oro community.
The community called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to immediately halt any move to recognise the title, insisting that Oke-Oro is not a recognised community within Irun-Akoko and that the matter is already before a court of competent jurisdiction.
Addressing a press conference in Akure on Friday on behalf of the Onirun of Irun-Akoko, Oba Samuel Bayode Agboola, the high chiefs and people of the town, the Asiwaju of Irun-Akoko, Chief Paul Oguntimehin, alongside the community’s legal counsel, Barrister Olusegun Adu Peters, said the request by Adeyemi was unknown to law and capable of breaching the peace.
Barrister Adu Peters disclosed that a suit, numbered HCIK/20/CIV/2025, challenging the purported recognition is currently pending before Justice B. J. Akinwumi of the Ondo State High Court sitting in Ikare-Akoko.
He urged the governor to “do the needful by rejecting any request submitted for the approval and recognition of the purported ‘Owa Adimula’ title of the 1st Defendant and his purported and non-existing ‘Oke-Oro’ community during the pendency of the suit.”
According to him, the suit challenges the action of Hon. Olanrewaju Adeyemi, whom he described as the 1st Defendant, for allegedly parading an unrecognised community called Oke-Oro within Irun-Akoko without the approval of the Onirun of Irun-Akoko.
The lawyer noted that the act was “highly provocative” and had previously caused serious breaches of peace in the town.
He added that all defendants in the suit had been duly served with the originating processes and motions on notice filed on October 14 and October 20, 2025, respectively.
Barrister Adu further revealed that the case had come up twice before Justice Akinwumi and was adjourned to February 18, 2016, for hearing.
He expressed concern over reports that the defendant was allegedly making moves to secure state government approval for the title and community while the case was still pending, warning that such action could further destabilise Irun-Akoko.
Tracing the history of the dispute, he recalled that in 2014, associates of Adeyemi instituted suit number HIK/24/2014, seeking court recognition of Oke-Oro community and the right to select a traditional ruler.
However, the court dismissed the suit in a “well-considered judgment.”
He added that subsequent efforts by the agitators at the Ajama Commission of Inquiry also failed, stressing that no Oke-Oro community was recognised in the Ajama Commission’s report or the White Paper dated August 24, 2024.
Copies of the judgment and White Paper, he said, had been served on the defendants alongside the processes in the current suit.
Speaking further, Barrister Adu appealed for peace, saying the community had been making steady progress at home and abroad and did not want any development capable of causing confusion or conflict.
“Historically, Irun-Akoko has always been united under the leadership of the Onirun of Irun. Oba Agboola is our head, and we are solidly behind him. We want peace, not war, in our land,” he said.
Also speaking, the Asiwaju of Irun-Akoko, Chief Paul Oguntimehin, appealed to Governor Aiyedatiwa and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to reject what he described as Adeyemi’s plot.
He said if government intended to compensate any loyalist, it should do so through political appointments rather than creating what he called an illegal kingship.
“If there is somebody they want to compensate, they can make him a commissioner or recommend him to President Bola Tinubu to become an ambassador, not to create problems for me and my generation by making someone king of a non-existent community,” Oguntimehin said.
The Asiwaju lamented what he described as government indifference to the actions of an individual who, according to him, had been parading himself as an oba since 2014.
He highlighted ongoing developmental efforts in the town, including school renovations, the establishment of a Civil Defence presence, and other community projects, warning that the creation of a new kingdom would undermine peace and development.
“We want peace and development in Irun-Akoko. The state government should not create problems for us by recognising any fake oba or non-existent kingdom,” he added.
