Nine of the ten ruling houses of the Onikoyi royal family have called on Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to revoke the installation of Prince Kunle Fafunwa as the new Onikoyi of Ikoyi and Mobaland.
The families insist the selection violates the 2006 chieftaincy declaration, which stipulates rotational kingship among the ruling houses.
Prince Fafunwa, son of the late Oba Patrick Onikoyi, was installed on July 15, 2025, following his father’s passing in 2023.
However, the families argue that the throne should have rotated to the Ojulari branch, with Prince Omogbolahan Onikoyi as the rightful candidate.
At a press briefing in Lagos, Akin Fafunwa, General Secretary of the Onikoyi royal family, stated that the governor may have been misled into approving an illegitimate succession. “We plead with Governor Sanwo-Olu not to allow illegality to replace justice,” he said.
Alhaji Akinyemi Esinlokun, head of the Ojulari branch, echoed the appeal, urging the government to follow due process in selecting traditional rulers.
The families revealed that they had notified the Eti-Osa Local Government, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and the Governor’s Office of Prince Omogbolahan’s selection in 2023 but received no response.
A lawsuit has since been filed at the Lagos State High Court, with a hearing scheduled for September 18, 2025.
Neither the Lagos State government nor Prince Kunle Fafunwa has publicly addressed the controversy.
The dispute highlights growing tensions over adherence to traditional succession protocols in Lagos chieftaincy matters.
