The Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has officially struck out charges of attempted murder and land grabbing filed against the Oloko of Oko, Oba Solomon Akinola. Justice Kareem Adedokun removed the monarch’s name from the case after the prosecuting counsel, I.O. Abdulazeez, acting on directives from the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Abiodun Aikomo, applied for the withdrawal.
The ruling, delivered in the state capital, means Oba Akinola, originally listed as the second defendant, will no longer stand trial alongside the remaining 14 defendants. Justice Adedokun adjourned the matter until September 18, instructing the defence counsel, O.A. Okeyinka, to ensure all other defendants are present on the new date.
Reacting to the development, the complainant, Isaac Abiodun, expressed deep disappointment, describing the move as a betrayal of justice. “This is a case in which overwhelming evidence of the Oba’s terror on Aagba village has been presented before the court, and the court is not being allowed to dispense justice on him,” Abiodun said.
He alleged that Oba Akinola personally oversaw violent attacks in the village, including supervising the torture of three community members within his palace. “We have tendered evidence showing how he directed that these individuals be beaten and attacked with a machete,” he said.
Abiodun condemned the Attorney General’s directive as a dangerous precedent. “This withdrawal, more than a year after prosecution closed its case, is a travesty of justice and a sad development. People have lost homes and property, and now even the farms are unsafe,” he lamented.
