On the day of final hearing on Wednesday, 30th April 2025, the family of Emiolu Ruling House of Iresa-Adu was prepared for a final judgement day in their favour in the Ibadan High Court. The case to produce Arẹsa-Adu of Iresa-Adu in Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan took a dramatic turn. According to sources in the family, rather than closing their case, a sabotage occurred from within the Emiolu Ruling House during the 30th April court sitting.
On Wednesday 30th April 2025, the Honourable Justice of Ibadan High Court, Justice K.A Adedokun ruled in favour of Barrister Micheal Lana and Emiolu Ruling House in the first hearing against Prince Adeyeye Oyerinde that; Prince Adeyeye Oyerinde cannot be the sole representative of the Oshunbiyi Ruling House, because he is only from one of the five(5) branches of Oshunbiyi family, therefore, he cannot represent all branches. Secondly that the joint leadership of the Oshunbiyi Ruling House has, through their Legal Counsel in court, denied existence of any Selection process that produced Prince Oyerinde Adeyeye within their family, and therefore the Oshunbiyi family does not recognise him as an Oba. This victory allows for Emiolu Ruling House to move on to the substantive matter before the Honourable Court that Prince Adeyeye Oyerinde is not a king, and it is the turn of Emiolu Ruling House to present a new Aresa of Iresa-Adu. The Honourable Justice K.A Adedokun who had previously warned against delay tactics adopted by Prince Adeyeye’s lawyer, was ready to proceed to the final hearing on the same day. In a sudden twist of events, a new lawyer appeared in court claiming he also represents Emiolu Ruling House and seek to join the matter before the hearing can proceed.
The Counsel to the Emiolu Ruling House, former Attorney General of Oyo State, Barrister Michael Lana expressed deep frustration with the level of sabotage within Emiolu Ruling House themselves. According to Information gathered from Emiolu family sources, some individuals from within the Emiolu Ruling House have been making every efforts for Emiolu Ruling House to lose this case or cause unnecessary delay. However, Barrister Micheal Lana expresses confidence to the leadership of the Emiolu Ruling House that justice will eventually prevail.
The case which has been ongoing since August 2024, and which is just one or two sittings away from getting a Judgement, experienced a setback when a strange Lawyer took all elders of Emiolu Ruling House by surprise inside the court on the 30th of April, 2025, that he(the strange lawyer) intends on joining the case on behalf of Emiolu Ruling House. Due to resistance by the family, the Honourable High Court Justice K.A Adedokun, who was prepared for final hearing on the Aresa-Adu matter had no choice but to review the motion brought in by the new lawyer claiming to also represent Emiolu, therefore the final hearing had to be stopped and the case had to be adjourned. This shocked the Emiolu family elders in court, as they wondered how an unknown lawyer to them could come in and delay court proceedings at the very last minute on the final day of hearing, on a matter that rulings and judgements have already begun.
All representative of Emiolu Ruling House who travelled to Ibadan on Wednesday, 30th April 2025 with the hope of final court hearing and with the hope of a judgement afterwards, left the court with deep disappointment, that someone within their own family would sabotage all their efforts again since 2019. Pa Prince Julius Olanipekun the Mogaji of Emiolu Ruling House was very upset about the new lawyer and whomever brought him into that matter.
Pa Julius Olanipekun said “this current case constituted by Barrister Michael Lana is a watertight case and with the greatest merits. We started this case in August 2024, and we can all see light at the end of the tunnel, for our family to gain victory to rightly produce Aresa-Adu. The victory is a collective victory for the entire Emiolu Ruling House and not an individual, because we must first gain victory as a family before any individual can be considered for Obaship. We came here for final hearing, therefore, for someone or a group of people within Emiolu family to sabotage all our efforts again after 7years of back and forth court battles is unforgivable, and we will get to the bottom of this, and God will reveal these evil doers amongst us”.
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