The Court of Appeal, Benin Division, has issued an interim order staying the execution of an Edo State High Court judgment that nullified the appointment of HRM Michael Sado as the Okuokpellagbe of Okpella and ordered the reinstatement of Lukeman Akemokue.
The appellate court made the order on Tuesday following an application filed in the ongoing appeal against the High Court judgment, effectively preserving the existing position pending the hearing and determination of the substantive appeal.
The dispute concerns the traditional stool of the Okuokpellagbe of Okpella in Edo State.
In March 2026, Justice O.A. Otamere of the Edo State High Court, in Suit No. HAG/12/2025, nullified Sado’s appointment as the traditional ruler and ordered that Akemokue, who had earlier been removed, be returned to the throne.
The trial court held that the process leading to Akemokue’s removal and the subsequent emergence of Sado did not comply with the requirements of fair hearing.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, an appeal was filed, alongside an application seeking a stay of execution to prevent the High Court’s orders from being implemented before the appeal is determined.
At the resumed proceedings before the Court of Appeal, the Edo State Attorney-General, Prof. Roland Otaru, SAN, told the court that the application principally sought an order staying the execution of the trial court’s judgment pending the determination of the appeal.
Otaru also informed the appellate court that the first respondent had not filed a counter-affidavit opposing the application.
Following the submissions, the Court of Appeal granted an interim stay of execution after counsel to the first respondent, D.A. Alegbe, gave an undertaking to the court.
The effect of the order is that the March 2026 judgment directing Akemokue’s return to the throne will not be enforced for the time being, pending the outcome of the appeal.
The appellate court has not yet determined the substantive dispute over who is lawfully entitled to occupy the stool, and the interim order should therefore not be interpreted as a reversal of the High Court judgment on the merits.
The Court of Appeal thereafter adjourned the matter to a date to be communicated to the parties.
The Okpella kingship dispute has remained contentious following the removal of Akemokue and the subsequent recognition of Sado as Okuokpellagbe, with the High Court’s March judgment reopening the contest before the latest intervention by the appellate court.
