The Supreme Court of Nigeria has imposed a cost of ₦10 million on a senior lawyer, Ambrose Ekpu, who represented the Ewu kingmakers in the ongoing Ewu chieftaincy dispute, describing his latest application before the apex court as a “gross abuse of court process.”
The ruling, delivered on Monday afternoon, re-echoes the court’s firm stance on the finality of its judgments and the need to prevent unnecessary litigation after matters have been conclusively settled.
A legal team led by Kingsley Obamogie, alongside Olayiwola Afolabi, Agunede, and others, opposed the application.
Under the new Supreme Court rules, the court ordered that the ₦10 million cost must be paid within 90 days.
The development marks the latest chapter in the long-running legal battle over the Onojie of Ewu Kingdom stool in Esan Central Local Government Area, Edo State.
It would be recalled that the Supreme Court, on July 19, 2024, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, dethroned Rasak Yesufu Ogiefo as the Onojie of Ewu and declared Jafaru Isesele as the rightful Onojie of the kingdom.
In that judgment, the apex court held that Prince Rasak Yesufu Ogiefo was not entitled to inherit the throne under the traditional line of succession.
The court ruled that his claim failed because his father, Prince Yesufu Isesele Ogiefo, died before his own father, His Royal Highness Isesele Ogiefo II, the late Onojie of Ewu.
Based on the traditional inheritance structure governing the royal lineage, the court determined that Jafaru Isesele—being the eldest surviving son of the late Onojie—was the legitimate successor to the throne.
