The Irun Akoko community in Ondo State has rejected what it described as an attempt to polarise the town through the proposed recognition of a traditional title linked to a community it insists does not exist.
Leaders of the town urged Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa to halt any move to recognise Hon. Olanrewaju Adeyemi as the “Owa Adimula” of Oke-Oro, which they described as a non-existent community within Irun Akoko.
Addressing journalists in Akure on behalf of the Onirun of Irun Akoko, Oba Bayode Agboola, the high chiefs and residents, the Asiwaju of Irun Akoko, Chief Paul Oguntimehin, alongside the community’s lawyer, Mr Olusegun Adu Peters, said the request for recognition was unknown to law and already the subject of litigation.
Adu Peters said a suit challenging the move was pending before an Ondo State High Court sitting in Ikare Akoko, presided over by Justice B. J. Akinwumi.
According to him, the case seeks to restrain the state governmen from approving or recognising the disputed title and the alleged community while the matter remains before the court.
He explained that the suit challenges the actions of Adeyemi, whom he described as the first defendant, over claims to an unrecognised community called Oke-Oro within Irun Akoko without the consent of the Onirun, an action he said had previously triggered tension and breaches of peace in the town.
The lawyer added that all parties had been served court processes and that the matter, which had come up twice, had been adjourned for hearing.
He warned that any attempt to secure government approval during the pendency of the suit could further inflame tensions in the area.
Adu Peters recalled that a similar bid in 2014, when Adeyemi’s associates approached the court seeking recognition of Oke-Oro and the right to appoint a traditional ruler, was dismissed.
He also said efforts by the group at the Ajama Commission of Inquiry were unsuccessful, noting that no community known as Oke-Oro was recognised in the commission’s report or the White Paper issued in August 2024.
Speaking further, Adu Peters said the community was united behind the Onirun and committed to peace, warning against any action capable of sowing division.
He stressed that Irun Akoko had historically existed as one entity under the leadership of the Onirun and should remain so for the sake of development.
Oguntimehin appealed to the governor and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to reject what he called an attempt to create confusion through the recognition of an illegal kingship.
He urged the government to find other lawful means of rewarding political loyalists rather than creating a traditional stool in a community he said did not exist.
He lamented what he described as government inaction despite claims that Adeyemi had been parading himself as a monarch since 2014.
Oguntimehin said the town had recorded progress in recent years, including school renovations, improved security presence and ongoing development projects, and warned that the peace needed to sustain these gains should not be jeopardised.
The community leaders reiterated their demand that the state government refrain from recognising any new kingdom within Irun Akoko, insisting that peace and unity remained paramount.