THE dethroned Apetumodu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, Oba Joseph Oloyede, has sued Governor Ademola Adeleke, seeking to stop the state government from appointing a successor to the traditional stool.
Oloyede, who was convicted in the United States over a $4.2 million COVID-19 relief fund fraud, is challenging his removal from office and has asked an Osun State High Court sitting in Ile-Ife to restrain the governor and other officials from filling the stool pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The convicted monarch is the second claimant in suit number HIF/50/2026, alongside three princes of the Latimogun Royal Family of the Aribile Ruling House of Ipetumodu: Oyewusi Adewusi, Isaac Adewuni and Abiodun Oyetoro, according to Punch newspaper.
In a motion on notice dated September 16, 2026, Oloyede sought an interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants, their agents and representatives from taking any steps to appoint another person as Apetumodu until the court determines the case.
He alleged that Adeleke ordered his deposition without informing him of any alleged wrongdoing or giving him an opportunity to respond.
The application partly read, “There was no time the 2nd claimant/applicant was informed by the 1st-3rd defendants of any wrongdoing before the issuance of the publication contained in the said Guardian Newspaper and the purported instrument or order of deposition.”
Oloyede also challenged a deposition instrument reportedly signed by Adeleke on May 7, 2026, which was published in a national newspaper on May 11, 2026.
Other defendants in the suit include the Osun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada; the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dosu Babatunde; Afolabi Adedeji, a chief; the Asalu of Ipetumodu and head of the kingmakers, Adesoye Babalola, also a chief; the Malefon of Ipetumodu; and Ife North Local Government.
Hearing adjourned
Meanwhile, the hearing in the case was stalled on Monday, November 2, following disagreements over the service of hearing notices on the defendants.
Only the claimants’ counsel, O. Ogbewe, and Soji Oyetayo, who represented the fifth defendant, Babalola, appeared before the court.
Ogbewe reportedly told the court that the defendants had been served with the relevant processes, while Oyetayo said he had not received the hearing notice.
Oyetayo subsequently asked the court to adjourn the matter to allow the claimants to serve all the defendants.
In his ruling, the judge, Dapo Adeniji, adjourned the case until January 21, 2027, and directed that fresh hearing notices be issued and served on the defendants.
The court has yet to determine Oloyede’s application seeking to stop the appointment of a successor.
Background
The ICIR reports that the Osun State Government approved Oloyede’s removal following his conviction in the United States over a scheme involving fraudulent applications for COVID-19 relief funds.
On August 27, 2025, Oloyede was sentenced to 56 months in prison by a US court after pleading guilty to wire fraud and tax-related offences connected to a scheme that defrauded federal COVID-19 relief programmes of $4.2 million.
The programmes included the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan initiative, established to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US court also ordered him to pay $4.4 million in restitution, forfeit his home in Medina, Ohio, and surrender $96,006.89 in seized proceeds of the fraud.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Oloyede and his co-conspirator, Edward Oluwasanmi, submitted fraudulent loan applications between April 2020 and February 2022.
Investigators found that Oloyede used businesses and some of his clients’ businesses to obtain the funds, while also collecting kickbacks from certain loan applications.
The US authorities said the scheme resulted in the approval of 38 fraudulent applications, amounting to $4,213,378 in disbursed loans and advances.
Following his conviction, the Osun State Government obtained a certified true copy of the US court judgment and subsequently approved his deposition in May 2026.
The government then declared the Apetumodu stool vacant, paving the way for the selection of a successor.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M