AGBADO COUNCIL OF TRADITIONAL CHIEFS TO MR SHYLLON: STOP REWRITING OUR HISTORY — GO AND FACE YOUR APPEAL

The attention of Agbado Council of Traditional Chiefs has been drawn to the statement issued by Mr. Adedayo Richard Shyllon, purporting to reject the appointment of Chief Ayoka Agboke as Iyalode General of Ifo Local Government.

We find the statement misleading, historically inaccurate and, frankly, astonishing.

First, Chief Ayoka Agboke is not a newly created Iyalode. She was installed as the Iyalode of Agbado in 1982 by the late Baale Popoola, the undisputed Baale of Agbado before the late Chief Anthony Adetunji Akinrinade. In 1982, Mr. Shyllon was still a teenager.

Therefore, nobody should attempt to rewrite Agbado’s traditional history today simply because it has become inconvenient.

Second, Mr. Shyllon should remember that his own status remains subject to a subsisting High Court judgment.

In Suit No. HCT/16/2011, the High Court of Ogun State, presided over by Hon. Justice O. Ogunfowora, delivered judgment on 18 December 2019, with orders adverse to Mr. Shyllon’s claim to the Agbado stool.

Yes, Mr. Shyllon appealed.

But an appeal is not a stay of execution.

Filing a Notice of Appeal does not magically suspend a judgment. A stay must be granted by a competent court. Section 17 of the Court of Appeal Act expressly recognizes this principle.

So, if Mr. Shyllon says he has a valid order staying the operation or enforcement of the judgment, let him produce it.

An appeal number is not a stay.

An application for stay is not a stay.

Only an actual order granting a stay is a stay.

Third, instead of issuing press statements and attempting to pronounce on every traditional development in Agbado, Mr. Shyllon should go and diligently pursue the appeal he filed.

If he genuinely believes the 2019 judgment was wrong, the proper place to establish that is the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division—not the pages of newspapers, social media or traditional gatherings.

The people of Agbado are tired of attempts to create facts outside the courtroom while a judicial process remains pending.

And let it be clear: Chief Ayoka Agboke’s traditional history did not begin with today’s controversy. It predates Mr. Shyllon’s claim to the throne by decades.

Mr. Shyllon cannot rewrite Agbado’s history.

He cannot manufacture tradition.

And he cannot substitute self-proclamation for a court order.

Let him pursue his appeal. Let the law decide. Let Agbado have peace.

The rule of law must prevail over personal claims, political pronouncements and attempts to rewrite history.

Prince Akintoye Olusola Akinrinade
On behalf of the Agbado Council of Traditional Chiefs