A sharp crisis seems to be brewing within the Oniru monarchy as the new Oniru of Iruland, Oba Gbolahan Lawal, has asked all banks housing funds belonging to the family to immediately place a ‘Post No Debit’ order on all the accounts of the family, according to Punch.
The warning was directed to First Bank of Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank, Sterling Bank, Zenith Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.
In a public notice signed by Bolaji Ayorinde SAN, the counsel for the new monarch, he also called on all tenants and lessees to stop transacting with any individual.
The notice read in part, “This is to notify the general public and in particular the lessees, tenants, occupiers, on Oniru family properties and bankers to Oniru chieftaincy family that after the demise of the immediate past Oniru on September 18, 2019, a new Oniru of Iru land in the person of HRM Oba Abdul Wasiu Omogbolahan Lawal was installed and given the staff of office and instrument of appointment ‘by his Excellency Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu the Governor of Lagos State on Sunday, June 7, 2020.
“With this appointment, Oba Lawal becomes the overall head of Oniru royal family. All lessees, tenants and occupiers on Oniru land should henceforth stop further dealing with any individual or group of individuals as any person who ignores this directive does so at his/ her own risk.
“Similarly the bankers to Oniru chieftaincy family should place a post no debit (pnd) on the family accounts and should not entertain any transaction in any form in respect of these accounts pending further directive from HRM Oba Abdul Wasiu Omogbolahan Lawal the Oniru of Iru kingdom.”
“The British International School, Oniru, Lekki Lagos, is owned by the Oniru family and asked the bankers to the school, GTB to comply strictly with this directive.
According to Punch, properties worth billions of naira in Iruland including houses, schools and hotels are owned by the Oniru family and rent is paid directly to the children of the late Oba Idowu Oniru who died in September last year.
But, notwithstanding the installation of the new Oniru, tenants have continued to pay rent to the children of the former monarch.
Already, one of the ruling houses in Iruland, Victoria Island, Lagos, the Omowumi Abisogun Oniru chieftaincy family, has rejected Oba Lawal, as the new Oniru of Iruland.
The family claimed that Lawal was neither a member of their family nor qualified to be the Oniru. They called on the Federal Government to prevail on the Lagos State Government to reverse Lawal’s installation as Oba and choose one of them as the king of Iruland.
Ordinarily, transition of management of the Oniru chieftaincy family assets and money in bank accounts ought to be smooth without the use of lawyers for freezing if majority of the royal family members are in support of the new installation.
As it is, a long legal and court battle over the stool might have just begun.