A Lagos State High Court at TBS has affirmed Oba Israel Adewale Okoya as the bonafide Onibereko of Ibereko in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Justice Yetunde Adesanya while delivering a 103-page judgement in a suit filed by 26 claimants from Ibereko community challenging his position as king, ruled that Okoya was duly installed as Onibereko as gazetted by the Lagos State Government.
The judge declared that the king and his cabinet were the custodians of the communal land in accordance with the tradition of the people.
Adesanya stated that the traditional cabinet must, however, consist of representatives of the community duly nominated by the people.
The judge, therefore, ruled that the claimants should acknowledge Okoya as the paramount ruler of Ibereko land.
On the allegation that the Oba used the police to persecute his subjects, Adesanya ruled that there should be no other case of oppression and suppression.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the case challenging the monarch was filed on January 26, 2011.
The claimants called three witnesses and submitted 117 exhibits in the case.
