The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has affirmed the appointment of Professor Sunday Amuseghan as the Kalasuwe of Apoiland and paramount ruler of the Ijaw people in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of the state.
The appellate court dismissed an appeal filed by Prince Joseph Orire David challenging the judgment of the Ondo State High Court, which had upheld Amuseghan’s selection and appointment to the traditional stool.
Amuseghan, a retired Professor of English at Adekunle Ajasin University and a member of the Ebeli Idumu Ruling House, was appointed Kalasuwe of Apoiland and Oba of the Ijaw people by the Ondo State Government in 2018.
Prince David had approached the High Court in Suit No. HOK/10/2018 through his counsel, Omolegbon Odusola, claiming that he had earlier been selected by a majority of the nine kingmakers and was awaiting approval by the Ondo State Executive Council before Amuseghan was appointed.
In response, counsel to Amuseghan, Chief Sola Ebiseni, raised a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the suit and the jurisdiction of the High Court.
Ebiseni argued that Prince David lacked the legal standing to institute the action because he belonged to the Ogele Idumu Ruling House, the same ruling house as the immediate past Kalasuwe, Samuel Adetimehin Oladiran.
He maintained that the registered chieftaincy declaration governing the stool recognised two ruling houses—Ogele Idumu and Ebeli Idumu—and required the throne to rotate between them.
According to him, since the immediate past monarch came from Ogele Idumu, the next occupant of the stool was required to emerge from Ebeli Idumu, the ruling house to which Amuseghan belongs.
The High Court upheld the preliminary objection and dismissed Prince David’s suit, prompting him to appeal the decision.
Delivering the lead judgment at the Court of Appeal, Justice N.U. Okaisabor, with Justices S. Nwaka Gbagi and P.O. Affen concurring, affirmed the decision of the lower court.
Justice Okaisabor held that both parties agreed that the selection and appointment of the Kalasuwe were governed by a registered declaration made pursuant to the Ondo State Chiefs Law.
The court held that the declaration determined eligibility to contest the stool and expressly provided for rotation between the Ogele Idumu and Ebeli Idumu ruling houses.
The appellate court found that Prince David had acknowledged that he belonged to the same Ogele Idumu Ruling House as the immediate past monarch.
It consequently held that he was ineligible to contest the stool under the rotational arrangement and therefore lacked the legal standing to institute the action challenging Amuseghan’s appointment.
The court further held that Prince David, as an aggrieved party, was required to comply with the procedure prescribed under Section 13 of the Chiefs Law before approaching the court.
It found that he failed to satisfy that statutory requirement and dismissed the appeal.
The judgment leaves Amuseghan’s appointment as the Kalasuwe of Apoiland and Oba of the Ijaw people in Ondo State intact.
The Kalasuwe stool is recognised as a first-class traditional institution in Ondo State and represents the Ijaw communities in the state.
