By Abiola Olawale
Ipetumodu, a town in Osun State’s Ife North Local Government Area, is grappling with tension, succession battle and uncertainty following the conviction of its traditional ruler, the Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Oloyede, in the United States.
This comes as Oba Oloyede, who ascended the Apetu stool on October 26, 2019, after the death of Oba James Adedokun Adegoke in 2017, is now facing a potential dethronement, a rare occurrence in Yorubaland.
The New Diplomat checks reveal that the community is already navigating tradition and legal formalities with a succession battle already in the works between the town’s ruling houses.
The New Diplomat further gathered that the traditional kingmakers have begun the process to make the next vetting process stricter to avoid the mistakes made in the past.
Recall that on August 26, 2025, a US District Court in Ohio sentenced Oba Oloyede, a 62-year-old monarch to 56 months in prison for orchestrating a $4.2 million COVID-19 relief fund fraud.
The Monarch who is a dual US-Nigerian citizen residing in Medina, Ohio, was found guilty of wire fraud, money laundering, and tax fraud after defrauding federal stimulus programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) schemes under the CARES Act.
Court records reveal that between April 2020 and February 2022, Oloyede, alongside his accomplice, Pastor Edward Oluwasanmi, submitted 38 fraudulent loan applications, pocketing $1.7 million for his businesses and collecting kickbacks of 15-20% from clients’ loans.
The US District Judge Christopher A. Boyko then ordered Oloyede to pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution, serve three years of supervised release post-imprisonment, and forfeit his Medina home and $96,006.89 in seized proceeds.
It was gathered that the monarch’s incarceration has plunged Ipetumodu into a leadership crisis, with princes from the Aribile and Fagbemokun ruling houses intensifying efforts to claim the throne.
The New Diplomat gathered that kingmakers, led by Chief Sunday Afolabi, the Asalu of Ipetumodu, have commenced deliberations awaiting the Osun State Government’s directive, which is said to hinge on receiving the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the US judgment.
A top source revealed that the town had sought guidance from the state government before the conviction but received no clear response.
The source said: “The town reached out to the government before the conviction but got no response. Now that the judgment is out, the state has promised to act only after receiving the CTC. Some contenders are already preparing petitions to fast-track the process.”
Reacting also to the development, the Ipetumodu Progressives Union (IPU), led by Dr. Israel Akinjogbin, has called for calm amid reports that some residents are planning protests to demand the monarch’s removal.
Akinjogbin noted that despite his conviction, Oba Oloyede has continued to hold virtual meetings with his chiefs. He urged indigenes not to allow the foreign judgment to disrupt peace at home.
“It is important for the people of Ipetumodu to distinguish between the legal proceedings abroad and the peace and order at home,” he said.
However, a chieftain of the Aribile Ruling House, where the jailed monarch belongs, Prince Taiwo Ayoola, stated that the mood in Ipetumodu is bad at the moment following the predicament of the monarch.
Speaking with the press, Ayoola: “He’s no longer His Majesty because anyone who misbehaves in the manner he did is no longer honourable.
“Look, we have two ruling houses-Aribile and Fagbemokun in Ipetumodu, and we are a people of integrity, and we are not corrupt in this town. We have never had any corrupt or criminal monarch in Ipetumodu.
“My father reigned as king of Ipetumodu for more than 25 years, and I lived my life in the palace and grew up there, and went to school while living in the palace. I can tell you without mincing words that this kind of thing is unheard of in the history of our town and the stool, that a reigning monarch went to jail for fraudulent practices.”
