Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has approved the deposition of Oba Joseph Oloyede as the Apetumodu of Ipetumodu in Ife North Local Government, a move that removes the monarch from the stool after his U.S. fraud conviction. The order was signed on 7th May, 2026, and the state said the throne is now vacant.
The governor’s decision came after Osun received a Certified True Copy of the Ohio court judgment convicting Oloyede. The state had waited for the court record before acting, after the Osun State Executive Council resolved last year that the Ministry of Local Government should write to the Ohio court for the judgment and that government should not rely only on social media reports.
In a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the order said the deposition was taken to maintain peace, order and good governance, and to protect the honour and integrity of the royal stool. It also said Oloyede’s fraudulent conduct, as found by the U.S. court, had brought the institution of Obaship and the stool of Apetumodu of Ipetumodu into disrepute and public odium.
That U.S. court, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, sentenced Oloyede to 56 months in prison on August 26, 2025, for wire fraud, making false tax returns and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property. The Cable reported that the case involved the theft of $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds, with the court also ordering three years of supervised release after imprisonment, restitution of $4,408,543 and forfeiture of his Medina residence and $96,006.
The fraud case has shadowed the Ipetumodu stool for months. The Cable reported that Oloyede and Edward Oluwasanmi were arrested in April 2024 over the COVID-19 scheme and charged on 13 counts, covering conduct that allegedly ran from April 2020 through February 28, 2022. The two men later pleaded guilty to some of the offences and submitted plea bargain agreements. Oluwasanmi was sentenced to 27 months in prison in July.
With the throne declared vacant, the state says the next step is to begin the process of selecting a new Apetumodu at the appropriate time. Adeleke also appealed to the sons and daughters of Ipetumodu to stay peaceful and law-abiding while the installation process unfolds.
