The Administrative Court in London has given the title ‘The King (on the application of Yoruba Party in the UK) v Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’ to the Judicial Review claim that YPUK lodged against the UK government in regard to non-implementation of a treaty that Queen Victoria of Great Britain signed with Alaafin Adeyemi, Head of Yorubaland, on 23 July 1888.
The 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty was a non-cession treaty of friendship and preferential trade between two independent sovereign states – Great Britain and Yorubaland. The treaty was at the behest of Queen Victoria, and she ratified it on 16 June 1890. The treaty created legitimate expectations for the Yoruba but Britain did many acts deliberately to frustrate the legitimate expectations, including assassinating the Alaafin in 1895 and amalgamating Yorubaland into Nigeria in 1914. The Claimant seeks an order by way of this JR to compel the Defendant to act consistent with the legitimate expectations created in the treaty. The court action became necessary because the Defendant refused to refer disputes raised by YPUK to arbitration, as provided for in the treaty, and refused to meet with the Claimant on the matter.
The importance of the issuance of the claim by the Administrative Court cannot be overemphasised.
- The Defendant will for the first time confirm the existence of the 1888 British-Yorubaland Treaty, and its consistency with international law and with British domestic law.
- The Defendant will confirm that the British voluntarily accepted legal obligations in the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty, which created legitimate expectations for the Yoruba including sovereignty.
- The Defendant will confirm that the 1888 Britain-Yorubaland Treaty made arbitration and dispute resolution obligatory.
- The Defendant will disclose all documents relevant to the claim that are currently not in the public domain.
- The case reveals the ingenuity of the Alaafin in the art of treaty making and extracting legally binding obligations from the British, and how the Alaafin conducted himself as a monarch of equal stature to Queen Victoria and the British accepted him to be the equal of their Queen.
One way or another, there is going to be a court hearing on this very important matter. The court has asked YPUK to provide the name of its lawyer in the next 15 days. YPUK does not have a lawyer because YPUK does not have the money to engage a lawyer. The case is estimated to cost up to £50,000, if not more. YPUK currently has at hand less than 0.1% of that sum. But the bridge has been crossed. There is no going back on this case. YPUK just has to find the money.