By Kunle Awosiyan
The Supreme Court has stripped Onilado of Ilado, Oba Mobadenle Oyekan of title to Ilado-Inagbe Island as it cancelled out claims made by the two parties fighting over the ownership of the land.
In December 15th, 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal judgment of January 12, 2018 that invalidated the judgement of the trial court of June 5, 2012 for lacking proper Writ of Summons over the case.
In one of its 17 grounds, Esimikan family of Ilado-Odo/Inagbe Island had challenged Onilado of Ilado, Oba Mobadenle Oyekan to restrain his agents, servants from entering, trespassing upon or in any other manner interfering with all land known as Ilado-Odo and Inagbe Islands.
(Onilado of Ilado, Mobadenle Oyekan)
However, the 17 grounds were reduced to two, according to the legal counsel to Esimikan family, Mr. Rotimi Aladesanmi, challenging the writ of summons that commenced the case for it to be declared null and void because the name of the lawyer who signed was not stated.
He also challenged the competence of the counter claim filed by the Oyekan family on the ground that it is consequentially null and void because there was no claim in the first place.
Interpreting the judgment to Echonews, Aladesanmi said that both parties agreed at the Supreme Court that Esimikan family owns the land, even though Oyekan family asserted in their counterclaim that they are the real Esimikan family and that prince Waheed Aberuagba who is claiming to be an Esimikan is not one of them.,
(Prince Waheed Aberuagba)
He said, “The land doesn’t belong to the Onilado, but to the Esimikan family and that his client Prince Waheed Aberuagba and co are the authentic Esimikan family. They are also the ones on ground in Ilado as the Onilado doesn’t live there at all. If Onilado feels otherwise, he can go to court.”
Reacting, the legal counsel to Onilado, Mr. Abumere Osara said that Waheed Aberuagba was never a member of Esimikan family and until he is able to establish that he is from the lineage of Esimikan that he can lay claim to any land in Ilado-Odo/Inagbe Island.
He explained that the land belonged to Esimikan family of which Onilado Oba Mobandele Oyekan is a prominent member and inheritor but Aberuagba is not one of them as established by the judgment of the trial court in 2012.
He stated that Aberuagba and company had never challenged the verdict that he is not a member of Esimikan but had only nullified his erroneous writ of summons.
“Didn’t their lawyer confirm that he reduced the grounds from 17 to two where the court declared that the land belonged to Esimikan but without any prove that Aberuagba is a member of Esimikan family,”Osara queried.
(Mulikatu Falana)
As he put it, “Error in the writ of summon that knocked out the argument of Aberuagba and company was committed by their own legal counsel, which eventually spoilt their case.
Speaking on the family lineage of Oyekan and Esimikan, Mr, Osara said that two of the four children of Esimikan were female; Ekundayo and Ekunremi. He said that Ekunremi married Oba Akitoye of Eko who gave birth to Dosunmus, who gave birth to Oyekans as the grandchildren.
According to him, Mobadenle Oyekan, having come from Ekunremi side was chosen to become the king of Ilado after the demise of Baale Yakubu Tadeyo of Ilado-Odo from the side of Ekundayo.
However, speaking to our correspondent, Prince Waheed Aberuagba denounced the claim that he is not from Esimikan family, adding, “It is Mobadenle Oyekan that is not one of us. He is a stranger in Ilado-Odo/Inagbe Island.
Aberuagba who is also laying claim to the obaship of the Island revealed that the late Tadeyo who happened to come from Lagos Island was not a scion of Esimikan but a houseboy to Ekunremi the daughter of Esimikan.
(Demolished Palace of Esimikan)
He said ‘’Our forefather, Esimikan migrated from Ile-Ife to settle in Ilado-Odo and has nothing to do with the Idejo clans, the White Cap Chiefs of Lagos Island. It is unfair for Oyekan to be our king on our land.”
According to him, Ilado-Odo/Inagbe had been existing for over 200 years and the traditional ruler was Esimikan but some land grabbers invaded the community in 1993 and pursued the earlier settlers away.
“We later discovered that these invaders were from Lagos Island. We wrote to the police and it took us about eight weeks to return to our homes. During our time in exile, no fewer than four of our people died,” he said.
According to findings, in 1995, Oba Adeyinka Oyekan made his son, Prince Mobadenle the Baale of Ilado-Odo/Inagbe community, which according to Aberuagba was against the will of the people. “” They came with policemen and thugs and machete, removed all what we had in the shrines, (pointing towards a tree) and imposed him on us right there,”” Aberuagba said.
“Since then, we have been in this problem. They would come with police to arrest our children. I have slept in the police stations for so many times because I stand to protect what belongs to me and my forefathers. That was why we later charged them to court but it took them years to appear at the Lagos High Court. Even at that, Prince Mobadenle never showed up at the court instead we were always waylaid by thugs anytime we went to court.””
Aberuagba said there was a time his family members left the court but could not get back home because operatives of the Department of State Service arrested him and others for allegedly involving in oil bunkering.
(House of Tadeyo)
“As we were leaving the court at Ikeja, a vehicle followed us. The operatives led us to DSS office at Shangisha and detained us for five days without single evidence that we were involved in oil bunkering, he said.
He alleged that Onilado is still selling land in Ilado-Odo, adding, “They claim the money made from the land are used for building structures on the land. Their agents always roam the land, selling them. But we have got judgment and the land seller has no right to sell our land but because we are a peaceful family, we always settle out of the police station on several occasions that they arrested me and our youths who usually stopped them whenever they invaded to grab land.”
It was during this period that they approached the Supreme Court to challenge our victory and they lost again,” Aberuagba said.
When Echonews visited the Island, one Mr. Abdulsuraj Jinadu Falana gave his own account that there were four families that settled down in the community and that each of them has connection with Esimikan.
According to him, the families were Jinadu Esimikan, Alabi Dosunmu, Mufutau Tadeyo, and Aasi family.
(Abulsuraj Falana and Ismail Salim)
Falana whom himself is a descendant of Esimikan told Echonews that his grandfather, Jinadu Esimikan ruled as the Baale of Ilado-Odo/Inagbe Island. He said that when his he died, another family, Yakubu Tadeyo became the Baale.
“Esimikan is our founding father, Waheed Aberuagba is also under Jinadu. Before Yakubu Tadeyo died, he made it known that our family members from Dosunmu Lagos will become King, I’m surprised that Waheed Aberuagba is claiming the kingship and ownership of the land.
”Dosunmu family is supposed to be king now,. The Dosunmu family are also claimant to the king and Oba Mobadenle Oyekan, the Onilado is from Dosunmu famil;y.””
He said that all the four families he mentioned had houses on Ilado-Odo/Inagbe Island, adding “Aasi house is in front of a police station, We’re at Tadeyo’s place, (pointing to a bungalow), Dosunmu are based in Lagos, they don’t come regularly but they are also one family here. That’s why Tadeyo said when he dies, they should crown people from Lagos, that’s why Oyekan the current king was crowned.
He explained that Jinadu Esimikan came from Idumota contrary to the position of Aberuagba who claimed that Esimikan came from Ile-Ife.
He said,“Jinadu is my great grandfather, they came from Idumota. It was at Idumota that Tadeyo and Jinadu got related.
Also speaking for Oba Oyekan, one Mr. Ismail Salim said that he is representing the monarch and that he is from Isale Eko, from Olorogun family. He said olorogun is a chief in Ilado and that Oba Oyekan has the same right to the land just as the Aberuagba family.
However an aged woman, Mulikat Jinadu Falana refuted Abdulsuraj’s story that the late Tadeyo said that the next king should come from Lagos Island.
The woman who was visibly angry said, ‘’Mobadenle Oyekan is a foreigner, we didn’t crown him as king, we don’t know him and do not accept him. I was born here and I’m over 90 years, he came to the village to disrupt our peace, he has no connection and has no relationship with us.”
To her, anybody who is backing Mobadenle Oyekan must have collected money to rewrite history, adding “”my father, Jinadu is from Ile-Ife and this land belongs to us.”
Following the judgement, Esimikan royal family of Aberuagba side has written letters to various authorities in the government to stop Onilado from trespassing on the land.
In a letter to the state Attorney General dated 17th May, 2024 with the title, “Supreme Court judgment with suit no. SCO: 146/2018 and signed by one Chief Rasheed Akangbe Oluseshi, the Esimikan Royal Family had requested the government to honour the supreme court judgement, urging the authorities to stop Onilado from selling the land.
Our correspondent also found that copies of the letter were sent to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Lagos zone 2 and Oriade Local Council Development Area.
(Reply from Lagos Assembly)
During the visit, Prince Aberuagba who is popularly called, “Olori Ilu””, (Head of the town) by the residents, confirmed that the Esimikan family truly sent copies of the judgment to Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN), the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development and the Speaker of the state House of Assembly to affect the judgment, Mudashiru Obasa.
Asked what actions the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, had taken over the matter, the Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Kehinde Adebayo told Echonews that the ministry does not handle legal matters but only organises installation ceremony and presentation of staff of office to any Oba-elect.
The Director Public Affairs of the Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Grace Alo said that the letter had gone to the appropriate unit and that work would be done on it.
At the state House of Assembly, the Chief Legislative Counsel to the Deputy Clerk of the house, Mrs. Teniade Fashola-Osoba confirmed that the speaker had got the letter, adding that a reply had since been sent to the family.
A copy of the reply by the assembly, made available to our correspondent read, “”I am directed to inform you that your letter dated 10th May, 2024 was received and it is receiving necessary attention.”
However Echnonews’ visit showed that Onilado of Ilado, Oba Mobadenle Oyekan had no palace in the community.
However, he has some of his allies on ground and a house at Idi-Igba, a nearby community to Ilado-Odo-Inagbe Island. He was installed as Baale before Lagos state Government promoted him to a substantive Oba with a gazette in 1996.
(Copy of the letter to the govt)
Ilado-Odo/Inagbe Island is about 200-year-old. A serene environment bounded in the east by the Onisiwo chieftaincy family land, in the west by Ilase Village, in the south by the Atlantic ocean and in the north by the lagoon, which creates the primary trade for the inhabitants, mostly fishermen and coconut farmers.
The residents also enjoy abundant supply of Oysters from the ocean tide every season. Even though, there is no electricity infrastructure, the residents enjoy the natural habitation that gives the place its unique features.