An Oyo State High Court in Ibadan has decreed that the Alabi branch of the Labosinde family is entitled to select the subsequent Oluwo Afobaje of Ibadanland. Justice Babatunde Olawoyin issued this verdict on Wednesday following a legal challenge brought by the Alabi section, which alleged they had been systematically sidelined by rival family branches.
The role of Oluwo Afobaje is central to Ibadan tradition, as this figure leads the final customary rites for the installation of the Olubadan. The Alabi group claimed they had been excluded from this office since 1971. In the suit marked 1/720/2022, initiated by Alhaji Ramoni Alabi against representatives of the Mosadogun and Babalola Onifade factions, the court determined the plaintiff’s evidence was more compelling.
Justice Olawoyin affirmed that the Alabi lineage is a legitimate branch of the Labosinde family with equal rights to the title. The court ordered that once the current officeholder, Chief Wahab Popoola of the Mosadogun section, concludes his term, the Alabi section must be granted the opportunity to provide the next candidate.
