Tension in Ipetumodu, Osun State, as kingmakers clash over whether to declare the Apetumodu throne vacant following the U.S. conviction of Oba Joseph Oloyede for COVID-19 loan fraud.
Tension erupted in Ipetumodu on Tuesday when a meeting of princes turned chaotic over whether the throne of the Apetumodu should be declared vacant following the jailing of the town’s monarch, Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede, in the United States.
Oba Oloyede, the 27th Apetumodu, was recently handed a prison sentence of more than four years for COVID-19 loan fraud by a U.S. federal court. The judgment also ordered him to forfeit assets and repay over $4.4 million in restitution.
The meeting, held inside the palace and led by the Asalu of Ipetumodu, Chief Sunday Adedeji, began around 4 p.m. and proceeded calmly until a participant requested that Adedeji, as the most senior surviving kingmaker, formally notify Governor Ademola Adeleke to declare the stool vacant.
Adedeji declined the proposal, distancing himself from any such move. His refusal sparked a heated exchange among attendees, forcing the meeting to end abruptly at about 6 p.m.
Speaking to journalists afterwards, Prince Olaboye Ayoola from the Aribile Ruling House expressed disappointment. According to him, the princes had agreed to elect two new kingmakers to replace deceased members and write to the governor about the vacancy, but Chief Adedeji refused and even announced he was stepping down as kingmaker, which led to the breakdown of the meeting.
Contacted later, Adedeji confirmed his stance but said only, “It is true. Peace has to reign first,” declining further comment.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio had announced Oba Oloyede’s sentencing on 26 August 2025. The monarch and an associate were found guilty of defrauding COVID-19 relief programmes under the CARES Act between April 2020 and February 2022.
Since the verdict, Ipetumodu has remained unsettled as pressure mounts on the Osun State Government to decide the monarch’s fate.
State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dosu Babatunde, told The Punch the government would obtain a certified copy of the U.S. judgment before taking any action.
Meanwhile, the town’s two ruling houses — Aribile, which produced Oba Oloyede, and Fagbemokun — are divided. Some Aribile princes want the throne to stay within their house until Oloyede finishes his sentence, while others insist on choosing a replacement from among previous contenders. Princes from Fagbemokun argue the next Apetumodu should come from their side since the current ruler is from Aribile.
Security was heightened during the disrupted meeting, with Department of State Services personnel stationed outside the palace in a patrol vehicle.
