By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Osun State Government has deposed the Apetumodu of Ipetumodu, Oba Gbenga Joseph Oloyede, following his conviction in the United States for COVID-19-related fraud, and consequently declared the traditional stool vacant.
The decision, announced in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, followed consultations, legal review and approval by the State Executive Council.
The government said the action was taken in line with the Osun State Chiefs Law (as amended) and other relevant legal provisions regulating traditional institutions in the state.
According to the statement, “the staff of office and all instruments of authority earlier issued to the monarch have been withdrawn,” while the stool of the Apetumodu of Ipetumodu in Ife North Local Government Area has been declared vacant with immediate effect.
Meanwhile, the development is linked to the monarch’s conviction in the United States, where he was found guilty of fraudulently exploiting COVID-19 emergency loan programmes designed to support small businesses.
The deposed monarch, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the United States, was sentenced on August 26, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko to four years imprisonment.
Further details from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio indicated that Oba Oloyede led a conspiracy that siphoned funds from the intervention scheme.
As part of the judgment, he forfeited his property in Medina, Ohio, which was acquired with proceeds of the fraud, alongside an additional sum of $96,006.89 traced to the scheme.
In addition, the court ordered him to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution amounting to $4,408,543.38.
Consequently, the Osun State Government maintained that the action taken was necessary to preserve the integrity of traditional institutions, stressing that due process was followed before arriving at the decision.
The development has since drawn attention to the intersection of legal accountability and traditional leadership, as stakeholders await the process for appointing a new monarch to fill the vacant stool.
