The Osun State government has removed the Apetumodu of Ipetumodu in Ife North Local Government Area, Oba Gbenga Joseph Oloyede, with immediate effect.
A statement released by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, said the decision came after consultations, legal review, and approval by the State Executive Council.
The statement explained that the move was carried out in line with the Osun State Chiefs Law (as amended) and other legal provisions regulating traditional institutions in the state.
It further stated that the monarch’s staff of office and all instruments of authority previously issued to him have been withdrawn, while the throne of the Apetumodu of Ipetumodu has now been declared vacant.
The deposed monarch, who holds dual citizenship in Nigeria and the United States, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko to four years imprisonment on August 26, 2025.
He was convicted of leading a conspiracy that exploited COVID-19 emergency loan programmes created to assist struggling small businesses.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the former monarch also forfeited his home in Medina, Ohio, which was allegedly bought with proceeds from the fraud, alongside an additional $96,006.89 linked to the scheme.
He was also ordered to complete three years of supervised release and pay $4,408,543.38 in restitution.