Appeal Court Confirms Retired English Professor As Kalasuwe Of Apoiland
Appeal Court Confirms Retired English Professor As Kalasuwe Of Apoiland
Retired Professor of English, Sunday Amuseghan
The Kalasuwe of Apoi is a first-class traditional ruler in the Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has affirmed the appointment of retired Professor of English, Sunday Amuseghan, as the Kalasuwe of Apoiland, bringing to an end a prolonged legal battle over the prestigious first-class traditional stool.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Monday, the appellate court dismissed an appeal filed by Prince Joseph Orire David, who had challenged Amuseghan’s emergence as the traditional ruler.
The decision upheld the Ondo State Government’s appointment of Amuseghan, a former Professor of English at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), who ascended the throne in 2018 as a member of the Ebeli Idumu Ruling House.
The Kalasuwe of Apoi is a first-class traditional ruler in the Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The legal dispute dates back to 2018 when Prince David instituted Suit No. HOK/10/2018 before the Ondo State High Court, contending that he had been selected by a majority of the nine kingmakers and was awaiting the approval of the Ondo State Executive Council before Amuseghan was appointed.
David consequently challenged the validity of Amuseghan’s appointment.
However, the High Court dismissed the suit after upholding a preliminary objection filed by Chief Sola Ebiseni, counsel to Prof. Amuseghan.
Ebiseni argued that the suit was incompetent and that Prince David lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to institute the action.
According to the defence, David belonged to the Ogele Idumu Ruling House, the same ruling house that produced the immediate past monarch, Oba Samuel Adetimehin Oladiran.
He maintained that this was contrary to the Registered Declaration governing the chieftaincy, which recognises only two ruling houses, Ogele Idumu and Ebeli Idumu, and provides for the rotational occupancy of the throne between them.
Dissatisfied with the High Court’s decision, David appealed the judgment at the Court of Appeal in Akure.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice N.U. Okaisabor, with Justices S. Nwaka Gbagi and P.O. Affen concurring, dismissed the appeal and affirmed the lower court’s ruling.
The appellate court held that both parties agreed the chieftaincy was regulated by a Registered Declaration made pursuant to the Chiefs Law, a subsidiary legislation that determines the eligibility of contestants for the stool.
The court further observed that David had admitted he hailed from the same Ogele Idumu Ruling House as the immediate past Kalasuwe, making him ineligible to contest the throne under the rotational arrangement.
Consequently, the court ruled that he lacked the legal standing to institute the suit.
The justices also held that, as an aggrieved party, David was required to comply with the provisions of Section 13 of the Chiefs Law before approaching the court but failed to do so.
The judgment effectively ends the years-long legal tussle over the Kalasuwe stool and affirms Amuseghan’s position as the traditional ruler of Apoiland, marking the culmination of the retired English professor’s transition from academia to traditional leadership.
