Some daughters of the late monarch of Aba-Aiyepe in Ogun State, Rauf Adebayo Raji-Suleimon, have sued the Osugbo Society of Ijebuland, also known as Ogboni Confraternity, for allegedly hijacking their father’s corpse during burial.
The daughters, Aderonke Egunjimi, Tiwalade Abass, and Adeyemi Joseph described their late father as a devout Muslim who performed the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.
They added that he also had several awards and recognitions given to him by Muslim Societies because of his contributions to the Islamic faith.
They further instituted a N50 billion lawsuit against the society through their lawyer, Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN).
Recounting how representatives of the society forcibly took their father’s corpse away, they said they had dug a grave, set up canopies for visitors and concluded funeral arrangements to bury their father, according to Islamic rites on January 24, 2021, before the incident.
The late monarch’s daughters sought for a mandatory injunction compelling the society to return the corpse forthwith to their custody at the applicants’ Family House being at No 1, Alaye Aba Street, Aba Quarters, Aiyepe, Ogun State.
The monarch’s daughters further accused members of the society of infringing on their rights to privacy and family life and depriving their father of a befitting burial.
They prayed the court to declare the conduct and practice of the 1st to 15th defendants unconstitutional, illegal, vexatious, barbaric, obnoxious, immoral and repugnant to the dictates of civil order as enshrined in the constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 2004.
The applicants are further asking the court for an order restraining Ijebu Traditional Council from giving any directives or orders to the 1st to 15th respondents contrary to the reliefs sought by the applicants.
No date has been fixed for hearing of the application.
Source, Saharareporters
