Oba Owolabi Saheed Momson, the deposed traditional ruler of Agbowa-Ikosi in Ikorodu, Lagos State, has filed a motion before the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal seeking to overturn a judgment delivered on May 30, 2025, which declared his ascension to the throne invalid.
IREPORT247NEWS reports that the appellate court’s ruling affirmed the Mabudeje Royal Family, led by Prince Babatunde Adenusi and others, as the rightful lineage eligible to occupy the royal stool of Agbowa-Ikosi. This decision effectively reversed the earlier verdict of the Lagos State High Court, which had legally recognised Prince (Barrister) Owolabi Saheed Momson—named as the 8th defendant in the suit—as the legitimate monarch of the town.
In the judgment of the appeal, marked CA/LAG/CV/1104/2023, Justice Ngozika Okaisabor, who delivered the lead decision, faulted the trial court for failing to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the evidence tendered during the proceedings. The appellate panel concluded that the lower court erred in law by wrongfully upholding the nomination of Prince Momson as the Abowa of Agbowa-Ikosi.
The Court of Appeal declared that the claimants, representing the Mabudeje Royal Family, are members of the bona fide ruling house and possess the traditional and legal authority to present a nominee to fill the vacant royal stool. Read here.
In reaction to the appellate court’s verdict, Oba Momson, through his counsel Gbenga Ojo, filed a motion seeking to halt the enforcement of the judgment. The monarch is requesting that the court suspend the ruling and reinstate him as the recognized traditional ruler of Agbowa-Ikosi pending the final determination of his appeal.
In an affidavit attached to the application, Oba Momson maintained that he was unaware of the appeal that led to his dethronement. He claimed he was neither served with a Notice of Appeal nor notified of any hearing date by the appellants — Prince Adenusi and three others — who challenged his installation.
The traditional ruler disclosed that the first time he learned of the court’s decision was on June 1, 2025, when residents informed him that members of the Adenusi family had paraded around Agbowa town, jubilantly announcing his removal.
He recounted that he was in the palace at the time, presiding over a meeting with his council of chiefs and Baales, when news of the judgment reached him. Troubled by the information, he immediately instructed his legal team, led by Gbenga Ojo, to investigate the matter and initiate legal steps to challenge the decision.
Oba Momson was officially installed as the Abowa of Agbowa-Ikosi by the Lagos State Government in May 2023 following the earlier ruling of the High Court.