Iragbiji ruling houses hail Aragbiji after court nullifies Lagbua recognition

The four recognised ruling houses of Iragbiji have praised the Aragbiji, Oba Abdul Rasheed Ayotunde Olabomi Odundun IV, after a court ruling overturned the state government’s recognition of the Lagbua family as a fifth ruling house.

Justice G.O. Lawal delivered the judgment on August 21, 2026, at the Osun State High Court’s Iragbiji Judicial Division in Suit No. HIR/3/2025. The ruling set aside the 2025 decision and reaffirmed the four ruling houses previously recognised by the state: Ajibode, Ogunmolu, Osungbemi and Arodoye.

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The government had communicated the decision through an official letter and subsequently published it in the Osun State Gazette, effectively bringing the earlier panel process to an end.

The case was brought by representatives of those four houses after the government reopened and approved a recommendation from the 2010 Aderibigbe judicial panel of inquiry. That panel had proposed adding the Lagbua family as a fifth ruling house. The court found that the government had already considered and rejected the Lagbua family’s request in 2013, communicated the decision in an official letter and published it in the Osun State Gazette.

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Justice Lawal held that the government could not reopen the matter and approve the old panel report in 2025 without following the appropriate legal process.

According to a statement from the Aragbiji’s press secretary, Adetayo Samson Aderibigbe, Justice Lawal held that the government could not reopen the matter and approve the old panel report in 2025 without following the proper legal process. The court also found that the four recognised houses had not received notice or an opportunity to be heard, breaching their rights.

The ruling nullified the January 29, 2025 decision of the Osun State Executive Council, the related 2025 White Paper and the amendment to the Aragbiji of Iragbiji chieftaincy declaration. Aderibigbe called the judgment important for Iragbiji and praised Oba Olabomi’s leadership, saying it supported peace, unity and stability in the town.

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His Majesty’s leadership continues to demonstrate the importance of responsible traditional leadership in preserving the history, heritage and unity of Iragbiji.