A major succession dispute has broken out in the Onikoyi royal family of Ikoyi, Lagos State, following the controversial installation of Kunle Fafunwa, son of the late monarch, as the new Onikoyi of Ikoyi and Moba Land.
The move has sparked widespread rejection by nine out of the ten branches of the family, who allege that the installation violates the chieftaincy declaration guiding the rotational kingship.
At a press conference held on yesterday at the Onikoyi ancestral compound, members of the nine aggrieved branches called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to intervene, describing the crowning of Fafunwa on Monday as illegal, unilateral, and destabilising.
The family stated that, in accordance with the Onikoyi Chieftaincy Declaration of 2006 as published in Gazette No. 45, the stool was due to rotate to the Ojulari branch, and not return to the Fafunwa lineage that just produced the late Oba Patrick Ibikunle Onikoyi, who passed away in 2023.
Abdul Omogbolahan Sulaimon Onikoyi, a prince, who was selected as the Oba-elect by the nine branches on December 9, 2023, alleged that the Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs used state machinery to force through the installation of Prince Fafunwa.
“There were just four people at the so-called installation yesterday — and the Commissioner himself was there. That tells you everything,” said Prince Omogbolahan.
“This is not about me. It’s about respecting our tradition and the law. What they are doing is bastardising not just our royal system, but the legislative, judicial, and traditional institutions. We will not be silenced. We will protest lawfully until the right thing is done.”
He added that nine of the ten family branches had chosen him in accordance with the rotational arrangement, and accused government officials of delaying his installation to carry out what he described as an “illegality.”
“If they do not address this matter properly, we will head to court. This is the fight of nine families, not just mine. It is not even about installing me. Let the law be followed. Let there be peace in our family,” he said.
Supporting him, the Olori Ebi of the Ojulari branch, Akinyemi Esinlokun, appealed to the state government not to impose a king outside the agreed process.
“We want to appeal to the government to do the rightful things and not impose anyone as our king or chiefs, as there is a system in Lagos for electing chiefs and Obas,” he said, adding that the family will continue peaceful protests against the decision.
The royal family also claimed that letters were sent to the Eti-Osa Local Government, the Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and the Governor’s Office immediately after Omogbolahan’s selection in 2023, but all went unanswered.
Legal action has already been filed at the Lagos State High Court to compel the government to recognise the family’s selected candidate. The case, pending before Justice Opesanwo, is slated for hearing on September 18, 2025.
Meanwhile, the family accused Kunle Fafunwa of leveraging political connections to secure the throne, alleging that he had openly boasted of links to high-ranking government figures.
When contacted on the issue, Gbenga Omotosho, the Information Commissioner in Lagos State, said the state government followed due process in the installation of the monarch.
Omotosho said even though there was disagreement over the choice of the new monarch among the families, the state government gave the staff of office to the person that was recommended.
The state government called on the parties to embrace peace. “Our own duty is to go there, give them the staff of office based on the recommendation they brought, and the government followed due process.”
He said, “It is true there were about five contenders from the same family. Whatever the government did, it followed due process. It is not unusual in this kind of situation to find people raising voices of disagreement.”
