LEGAL REGULATION OF CHIEFTAINCY DISPUTES IN YORUBALAND 1939—1960

Abstract

One of the major challenges faced by the colonial administration in Nigeria was chieftaincy issues, which created social disorder. While the changing status of chieftaincy institution during this period had attracted much attention from scholars, the legal regulation of chieftaincy matters and disputes have not been adequately addressed. This study, therefore, examined the causes of persistent chieftaincy disputes between 1939 and 1960, and assessed the extent to which the various ordinances and laws were able to resolve contestations, with a view to determining the purposes for which they were made.

The study adopted the historical research design. In-depth interviews were conducted with purposively selected 42 chiefs from Yoruba towns of Ijebu-Ode, Ilesa, Akure, Ijebu-Igbo, Owo, Oyo, and Abeokuta where chieftaincy disputes were prevalent during the study period. Six chiefs each were interviewed from these towns, while 15 others were lawyers. Also, materials which included colonial office records, provincial files, intelligence reports, court records and reports of commission of enquiries were collected from the National Archives, Ibadan. Data were historically analysed to explain the development that took place on legal regulations of chieftaincy disputes in Yorubaland.

Prior to 1939, chieftaincy litigation in the courts constituted an embarrassment to the government, hence the promulgation of an ordinance to regulate chieftaincy affairs. Between 1939 and 1940, there was an increase in the rate of chieftaincy disputes in Yorubaland. The causes of chieftaincy disputes were in four categories; namely, traditional, economic, political and social factors. In Ilesa, matters relating to chieftaincy and taxation led to a riot in 1941. The government arrested all the suspects; they were tried, convicted and sentenced to various imprisonment terms. Also, in Ijebu-Ode, the Gbelegbuwa chieftaincy dispute culminated into a civil disturbance which resulted in an attempt to assassinate the Awujale-elect in 1944. The suspected assassin was arrested, charged to court and eventually convicted and sentenced to a ten year imprisonment term. In 1942, the Sorundi chieftaincy dispute in Ilesa came up as a result of economic and social factors. A key chief was accused of being made the Sorundi wrongly and for alienating chieftaincy land. The Owa Ajimoko II confirmed the authenticity of his choice, but warned him to stop further alienation of chieftaincy land. In 1952, the Olomu chieftaincy dispute was caused by a combination of traditional and political factors involving the Adekiyeri and the Ramuja chieftaincy families. The Awujale set up a commission of enquiry to resolve the dispute and come up with a rightful candidate. This was done but the contender from the Adekiyeri family continued to foment trouble. The Olomu chieftaincy dispute was resolved with the use of Chieftaincy Declaration. The promulgation of the Western Region Local Government Law in 1952 further emasculated the chiefs, thus subordinating them as agents of colonial administration until 1960. The use of chieftaincy Declaration was formalised with the promulgation of the Chief’s Law in 1955. Despite the positive intervention of the colonial law, chieftaincy disputes continued to occur in different dimensions in Yorubaland during the colonial period.

The British colonial administration was able to resolve the problem of social disorder associated with chieftaincy matters between 1939 and 1960 through the instrumentalities of the law, the courts, commission of enquires and Chieftaincy Declaration but they could not stop persistent chieftaincy disputes during this period. The British colonial administration was largely successful in restoring social order through legal regulation of chieftaincy disputes.

Key words: Legal regulation, Chieftaincy disputes, Ordinance, Court, Yorubaland. Word count: 498