The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), an anti-corruption and human rights group, has called on Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, to immediately initiate the statutory process of dethroning Oba Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu, following his conviction in the United States for multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud.
On August 26, 2025, Judge Christopher A. Boyko of the Northern District of Ohio sentenced Oba Oloyede to five years in prison and ordered him to repay about $4.4 million to victims. The monarch had earlier pleaded guilty to using six companies to fraudulently secure loans under U.S. emergency relief packages, including the Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL).
In a letter signed by its Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, and addressed to Governor Adeleke, HEDA stressed that a traditional ruler convicted of fraud cannot continue to occupy a revered stool.
“Traditional rulers are custodians of culture and values, symbols of authority, and closest to their people. The moral stain of fraud, corruption, or criminal conviction must never compromise such a sacred position. It is therefore on this premise that we respectfully demand the dethronement of Oba Yusuf Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu, to preserve the honour of Osun’s traditional institutions and safeguard the integrity of the state,” Suraju stated.
The organisation warned that failure to act swiftly could be seen as condoning fraud and defiling Osun State’s traditional institutions.
HEDA urged the governor to uphold the sanctity of leadership and protect Nigeria’s image both nationally and internationally, while pledging to continue monitoring the matter and pushing for accountability, transparency, and the rule of law.