Appeal Court sacks Ondo monarch

The Akure Division of the Court of Appeal, on Wednesday sacked the Zaki of Arigidi-Akoko in Akoko Northwest Local Government of Ondo State, Oba Yisa Olanipekun, from the throne.
Ordering the monarch to vacate the throne, the court, also set aside the government approval given to him.
The court therefore asked the monarch to stop parading himself as the monarch of the town.
Olanipekun had approached the court to challenge the ruling of the state High Court, which earlier ordered him to vacate the seat.
The court held that the approval of the state government for Olanipekun’s emergence as monarch was done in disobedience of a court order.
But the appellate court noted that the lower court on November 3, 2008, had ordered the parties in the suit to stay further action on the issue but that the state government went ahead on November 5, 2008 to approve the selection.
Justice Abubakar Gumel, who read the judgment however noted that the injunction granted by the lower court did not affect the action taken by the kingmakers on October 28, 2008.
The monarch had approached the appellate court to challenge the ruling of Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi of the state High Court which restrained him from parading himself as the monarch of Arigidi-Akoko.
The suit at the lower court was filed by Tunde Olanipekun and Alfred Oloruntola against Salawu Olanipekun and Yisa Olanipekun.
They were challenging the Zaki of Arigidi Chieftaincy Declaration of Arigidi 1989 and the selection and appointment of Olanipekun.
The lower court, apart from holding that the state government was wrong to have approved the selection, also ordered Olanipekun to stop parading himself as a monarch.
Meanwhile, the embattled monarch said he would still challenge the verdict of the appellate court at the Supreme Court.
Olanipekun, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone, said there was no cause for alarm because he was still the monarch.
He added, “The judgment did not fault the selection process that produced me as the Oba. My people wanted me and the kingmakers chose me. The government approval is what the judges were against.”