KEY POINTS

• Governor Ademola Adeleke has removed the Apetu of Ipetumodu after his conviction in the US over COVID-19 fraud.
• The monarch, Joseph Oloyede, was sentenced to 56 months in prison and ordered to repay over $4.4 million.
• US prosecutors said he and a Nigerian pastor used fake documents to obtain millions in COVID-19 relief funds.

Governor Ademola Adeleke has officially removed Joseph Oloyede as the Apetu of Ipetumodu following his conviction and imprisonment in the United States over a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud case.

The Osun State Government announced the monarch’s deposition after receiving the Certified True Copy of the judgment delivered by a US court. In a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the government said the decision was taken to protect the integrity and honour of the traditional institution.

According to the statement, the deposition order was signed by Governor Adeleke on May 7, 2026, and declared the royal stool vacant pending the appointment of a new monarch.

The Osun government said Oloyede’s conviction had brought public embarrassment and disrepute to the traditional stool of Apetumodu of Ipetumodu.

Officials explained that the action was necessary to maintain peace, order and public confidence in the state’s traditional leadership structure. The government added that the monarch’s guilty plea and criminal conviction in the United States made his continued stay on the throne untenable.

Authorities also disclosed that the Ministry of Local Government Affairs had earlier contacted the US court to obtain official records of the judgment before the final decision was reached.

US court sentenced monarch over $4.2m fraud scheme

Oloyede was sentenced in August 2025 by a United States District Court in Ohio after pleading guilty to offences linked to COVID-19 relief fraud.

The court sentenced him to 56 months in prison and ordered him to pay more than $4.4 million in restitution. He was also directed to serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison term.

US authorities further ordered the forfeiture of his residence in Medina, Ohio, alongside over $96,000 seized during investigations.

According to US prosecutors, Oloyede and Nigerian pastor Edward Oluwasanmi fraudulently obtained COVID-19 relief funds through false Paycheck Protection Programme and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications submitted between 2020 and 2022.

Investigators said the duo allegedly filed fake tax and wage records for several companies under their control in order to secure millions of dollars meant for struggling businesses during the pandemic.

The US government said Oloyede controlled multiple businesses and a non-profit organisation, while his co-defendant operated several other entities used in the scheme.

Authorities disclosed that approximately $1.7 million was obtained through Oloyede’s companies, while another $1.2 million was linked to Oluwasanmi’s businesses.

Pastor Edward Oluwasanmi, who was arrested alongside the monarch in April 2024, was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment after entering a plea bargain agreement with prosecutors.

Both men faced multiple charges including wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud and engaging in transactions involving criminally derived funds.

The case drew significant attention both in Nigeria and the United States due to Oloyede’s status as a traditional ruler.