The dethroned Apetumodu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Oloyede, has approached the Osun State High Court to challenge his removal from the throne and stop the state government from appointing a successor.
Oloyede filed the suit alongside the Latimogun Royal Family at the Osun State High Court in Ile-Ife, accusing the state government of failing to follow due process and grant him a fair hearing before his deposition.
The case, registered as Suit No. HIF/50/2026, lists Governor Ademola Adeleke, relevant state government officials, traditional kingmakers and the affected local government among the defendants.
Through legal action, the former monarch seeks judicial intervention to overturn the decision that removed him from office. He also wants the court to restrain the defendants from proceeding with plans to fill the vacant Apetumodu stool while the dispute remains unresolved.
Governor Adeleke had earlier signed an instrument formally removing Oloyede from the traditional position following his conviction in the United States over a multimillion-dollar fraud involving COVID-19 relief funds.
The US court sentenced the monarch to more than four years in prison after finding him guilty of participating in the fraudulent scheme.
His conviction and subsequent removal from the throne have since placed the traditional institution in the centre of a legal dispute over the legitimacy of the government’s action and the process of selecting a new monarch.
At the initial court sitting, proceedings could not progress because of issues surrounding the service of court processes on the defendants.
Consequently, Justice Dapo Adeniji adjourned the matter until January 21, 2027, and directed the parties to issue fresh hearing notices to ensure proper service.
The adjournment leaves the dispute pending, with the court yet to determine whether the government followed the appropriate legal procedures in removing Oloyede from the throne.
By Musekir Faisat OmolaraÂ
