Kosoko Ruling House Challenges Oloja Nomination Process

Wale Igbintade

The Akinsanya Olojo Ruling House of the Kosoko Royal Family has taken legal action to assert its exclusive right to nominate the next Oloja of Lagos, claiming that Prince Abiola Olojo-Kosoko is the legitimate heir.

The case, LD/14537GCMW/2026, currently before the Lagos Division of the High Court, seeks judicial recognition of Prince Abiola Olojo-Kosoko as the rightful nominee for the stool. 

The claimants cite the officially recognised traditions of the Akinsanya Olojo Ruling House and a 1983 registered declaration affirming their exclusive right to produce the candidate.

The dispute followed a 3rd March 2026 letter from the Lagos Island Local Government to Alhaja (Chief) Mutiat Abimbola Ashabi Alli-Balogun, Head of the Kosoko Royal Family, requesting the nomination of a preferred candidate between Prince AbdulRafiu Babajide Akanni Kosoko and Prince Mukaila Olanrewaju Kosoko. 

The request referenced a prior communication from the Lagos State Ministry of Justice.

In response, the Kosoko Royal Family, represented by Olusegun Fabunmi SAN, described the request as “shocking,” stressing that Prince Abiola Olojo-Kosoko had already been duly nominated and ratified by the nine kingmakers representing the nine ruling houses in December 2020. 

He was formally presented to the King Kosoko Palace on Ereko Street, Lagos Island, on 31st December 2020, with all traditional and legal procedures for his coronation duly initiated.

The claimants are seeking a declaration affirming that it is the exclusive turn of the Akinsanya Olojo Ruling House to produce the Oloja of Lagos under the 1983 registered declaration. 

They also want the court to recognize Prince Abiola Olojo-Kosoko as the legitimate heir, having been properly screened and elected by the kingmakers.

Fabunmi revealed that the claimants have applied for an interlocutory injunction to restrain authorities from taking any action that could affect the chieftaincy process while the case is pending.

He urged the Lagos Island Local Government and all other parties to avoid actions that could prejudice the litigation, citing the Supreme Court ruling in Military Governor of Lagos State v. Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu (1986), which prohibits self-help once a matter is before the court.

Copies of the court filings have been forwarded to the Lagos State Attorney-General, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Oba Akiolu, and other interested members of the Kosoko Royal Family, including Prince Babajide Rafiu Kosoko, Mr. Muritala Olanrewaju Kosoko, and Mr. Tunji Taiwo Kosoko.

The legal action seeks, among other reliefs, to prevent the appointing and consenting authorities from taking unilateral steps that could undermine the rights of the Akinsanya Olojo Ruling House until the substantive issues are resolved. 

The statement of claim stresses that any such action would violate the principle that “a party has no right to take matters into his own hands once a court is seized of it.”