Court settles long-running Oluwo Afobaje dispute, rules Alabi section produces next

By Adejayan Gbenga

An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has ruled that the Alabi section of the Labosinde family should produce the next Oluwo Afobaje of Ibadanland.

Justice Babatunde Olawoyin of Oyo State High Court 8 delivered the judgment on Wednesday while ruling on a suit filed by the Alabi section after it was denied the opportunity to produce the traditional title holder.

The Oluwo Afobaje title is traditionally reserved for the Labosinde family, with the holder performing the final traditional rites during the installation of an Olubadan of Ibadanland.

However, the Alabi section has reportedly been excluded from producing the Oluwo Afobaje since 1971, while the two other sections of the family have taken turns producing holders of the title.

The judgment followed a suit filed by Alhaji Ramoni Alabi on behalf of the Alabi section against Alhaji Abdul Wahab Idowu Popoola of the Mosadogun section and Alhaji Waheed Babalola of the Babalola Onifade section.

Justice Olawoyin, in suit No. 1/720/2022, held that the evidence presented by the claimant outweighed that of the defendants and affirmed that Alabi is one of the bona fide children of Labosinde, giving the section equal rights to the title.

Consequently, the judge ruled that after the incumbent Oluwo Afobaje, Chief Wahab Popoola of the Mosadogun section, leaves the position, the Alabi section should be allowed to produce the next holder, effectively resolving the long-running dispute over the succession of the traditional title within the Labosinde family.