Human Rights Activist Sues Dethroned Alawo for Fraud
Prince Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman challenges deposed Alawo Taiwo Adegboye in court over alleged document forgery. The case raises significant questions about electoral integrity and legal standards in Osun State.
In a dramatic turn of events, Prince (Comrade) Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, a prominent human rights activist and candidate for the prestigious stool of Alawo of Awo in Egbedore Local Government, Osun State, has launched a legal assault against the recently deposed Alawo, Mr. Taiwo Abdulrasaq Adegboye. The legal challenge, filed in the Osun State High Court of Justice, Osogbo Judicial Division, centers on allegations that Adegboye falsified ten critical documents to qualify for the chieftaincy position.
Sulaiman accuses Adegboye of fabricating a range of documents, including age declarations, academic credentials, and selection papers. These falsified documents purportedly enabled Adegboye to appear eligible for the Alawo stool, despite contravening the Chief's Law, Cap. 25, Laws of Osun State, 2002, and relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.
The suit, numbered HOS/83/2024, includes 66 documentary pieces of evidence and 24 live witnesses, submitted through Sulaiman’s lead counsel, Barrister Oluseyi Oyagbile. Sulaiman claims that Governor Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke has supported Adegboye’s dethronement by failing to enforce an Appeal Court judgment from August 8, 2022, which had already removed Adegboye from the stool. Furthermore, Sulaiman alleges that Adeleke’s administration violated constitutional oaths by conferring an honorary chieftaincy title on December 9, 2023, contrary to legal standards.
In his court filing, Sulaiman seeks not only the disqualification of Adegboye but also his own installation as the Alawo, citing his superior qualifications and the alleged fraudulent acts committed by Adegboye. He challenges Adegboye’s appointment, which was conducted in defiance of the Appeal Court’s decision and alleges that Adegboye manipulated the process using his political influence.
The case remains pending, with no date yet set for the commencement of hearings. Sulaiman’s campaign underscores a broader concern about the integrity of democratic processes and legal standards in Nigeria, asserting that without stringent punitive measures for such offenses, misconduct will persist.
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