Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos High Court sitting in TBS has confirmed Oba Israel Adewale Okoya as the legitimate Onibereko of Ibereko in Lagos State’s Badagry Local Government Area.
In a 103-page ruling in a suit filed by 26 claimants from the Ibereko community challenging Okoya’s position as king of Ibereko, Justice Adesanya ruled that Okoya had been duly installed as Onibereko as gazetted by the Lagos State Government.
According to the Judge, the king and his cabinet were the custodians of the communal land in accordance with popular tradition.
Adesanya, on the other hand, ruled that the traditional cabinet must be made up of community representatives who have been duly nominated by the people.
As a result, the Judge ruled that the claimants must acknowledge and address Okoya as the supreme ruler of Ibereko land.
Concerning the Oba’s use of the police for indiscriminate arrest and persecution of his subjects, Adesanya ruled that the police should not be used as an instrument of oppression and suppression.
She ruled that the traditional ruler could not use the police or his thugs to harass the claimants.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the case against the monarch was filed on January 26, 2011, and the claimants called three witnesses and submitted 117 exhibits.