The Supreme Court of Nigeria has decided to strike out an appeal filed by Micheal Onakoya against the decision of the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal which affirmed the judgment of the lower court that dethroned him as king and Orijeru of Igbooye land, Epe.
In a judgment delivered on April 29, 2024, the apex court held that the appeal was filed out of time.
The ruling of the Supreme Court highlighted that the Notice of Appeal was filed after the prescribed time as per Section 27 of the Supreme Court Act, and therefore deemed it incompetent.
The appellant’s counsel was not present during the proceedings, even after being duly served with a hearing notice.
The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, had previously affirmed the judgment of a Lagos High Court, which dethroned Michael Onakoya as the traditional ruler and Orijeru of Igbooye land, Epe.
The deposed king’s appeal was dismissed by a three-man panel of the appellate court, which held that the application was lacking in merit.
The initial judgment in April 2016 declared that Onakoya was not entitled to be nominated as the Orijeru of Igbooye and perpetually restrained him from parading himself as a member of the Ewade Ruling House of Igbooye, Epe, or the traditional ruler and Orijeru of Igbooye land.
The court also dismissed the counter/claimant’s claim in its entirety.
Following this legal tussle, the deposed monarch was banished from Igbooye town by the Lagos State government, but after appealing the decision, he was allowed to return home as an ordinary citizen of the community pending the final determination of his case, with certain restrictions to maintain peace and order in the community.
