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Following the burial of ceremony of the late Awujale of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Adetona, the International Council for Ifa Religion (ICIR) has said it will sue the Ogun State Government over “desecration of Yoruba customs”.
DAILY POST reported that the monarch who died at the age of 91 on Sunday, July 13, 2025, was buried at his private residence in Ijebu Ode, last Monday.
Oba Adetona, the longest reigning monarch in Nigeria was buried according to the Islamic tradition as traditionalists were forcefully prevented from conducting the customary burial rituals.
The ICIR, through its President, Dr. Fayemi Fakayode, and legal representative, Ifasola Opeodu, at a press briefing held in Ibadan, Oyo State, over the weekend, accused the state government of disregarding the State Chieftaincy Law, specifically Part 8, Section 55, Sub-section II, which mandates traditional rites for the burial of kings.
Opeodu frowned that the Osugbo Confraternity, traditionally responsible for final burial rites, was stopped from performing its role and walked out by the military men on ground.
“This is a constitutional breach and a threat to the religious rights of traditional religion adherents.” Opeodu said.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Government has insisted that the burial was done in line with the late monarch’s wish.
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Sina Ogungbade (SAN), noted that the Ifa adherents are suing the government out of ignorance and are free to do so.
Ogungbade said, “How can the choice of the deceased Awujale or that of his family to bury him according to his faith and without disruption by anybody, as guaranteed by law, be stretched to amount to an assault on religious freedom of indigenous adherents?
“ If and when they sue, we will meet them in court. It’s a welcome development. But their position is laughable and totally disconnected from the realities of our legal framework.”
The Chief Priest of Ijebu land and Olowa of Iperu, Chief Rasaki Osimodi, had expressed his dissatisfaction with the Awujale’s burial, saying, “The late king ate and drank with us, but in death, he turned his back on our customs.”
Source: https://dailypost.ng/Awujales-burial-Ifa-council-to-take-Ogun-Govt-to-court
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