Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A prominent Ijebu-Ode chief and legal scholar has fired a legal broadside at 11 members of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, demanding N10 billion in damages over what he describes as a campaign of defamation linked to the hotly contested selection process for the next Awujale of Ijebuland.
Prof. Fassy Yusuf, an Associate Professor of Media Law and Ethics at the University of Lagos and Vice Chairman of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House, filed the suit at the Ogun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Ode on August 21, 2026. The explosive legal action, which was made public on Thursday, targets a report from a fact-finding committee that he claims was illegally constituted and contained damaging falsehoods about his character.
In the writ of summons, a copy of which was obtained by journalists, Yusuf is seeking an order compelling the defendants to retract the alleged defamatory statements and tender an "unreserved apology" to him in The PUNCH and Nigerian Tribune newspapers, as well as on social media platforms where the report was circulated. He is also demanding N5 million as the cost of the action and a 21 per cent annual interest on the judgment sum until final liquidation.
The dispute centres on a document titled 'REPORT OF THE FUSENGBUWA FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE', dated August 9, 2026, which Yusuf claims was published without any lawful authority. He argues the committee was not constituted in line with the customs and established procedures of the ruling house. According to the statement of claim, the defendants published allegations that there had been a "breakdown of unity, communication and cohesion" involving the claimant, and that he and others had been engaged in "financial inducement, manipulation, irregularities and lack of due process". They also alleged that he had a preferred candidate in the Awujale selection process and that his position was compromised.
Yusuf is seeking several declarations from the court, including that the statements and allegations concerning him in the report are false, defamatory, and injurious to his reputation. He wants the court to declare that the publication and circulation of the alleged statements constitute actionable defamation and that the purported Fusengbuwa Fact-Finding Committee lacked the authority to investigate him.
The legal action is the latest twist in an increasingly bitter succession battle for the prestigious Awujale stool. The controversy has already drawn in the Ogun State Government and the kingmakers, with the Fusengbuwa Ruling House itself filing a separate suit to compel the government to complete the selection process. The succession became uncertain following the death of the revered Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona on July 13, 2025, leading to disputes that prompted the state government to suspend the process in January 2026.
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