Ex-Oba Joseph Oloyede: The Audacity of a Fallen  Monarch

The crown may have slipped from his head, but Oba Joseph Oloyede, the dethroned Apetumodu of Ipetumodu, is not ready to surrender the throne without a fight. Convicted in the United States on fraud-related offences and subsequently deposed, the former monarch has taken his battle to court, seeking to stop Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, from installing a successor to the ancient stool.

In a dramatic twist to the unfolding royal saga, Oloyede is asking the judiciary to halt the machinery of succession, insisting that his removal was carried out without affording him the opportunity to defend himself.

The former monarch, who is the second claimant in suit No. HIF/50/2026 before an Osun State High Court sitting in Ile-Ife, is seeking an interlocutory injunction restraining Adeleke and other state officials from filling the Apetumodu stool until the substantive suit is determined.

In a motion on notice dated September 16, 2026, Oloyede alleged that he was never formally informed of any wrongdoing before the state embarked on the process of removing him from office.

He further challenged his deposition, reportedly approved by the governor on May 7, 2026, describing the process as unlawful and insisting that he was denied the opportunity to answer the allegations against him.

His application seeks to freeze the succession process, effectively placing the royal stool in legal limbo while the court weighs his claims.

The dispute has drawn other members of the Latimogun Royal Family of the Aribile Ruling House into the fray, including Prince Oyewusi Adewusi, Prince Isaac Adewuni and Prince Abiodun Oyetoro.

But the courtroom confrontation encountered an unexpected hurdle on Monday when the hearing was stalled over the non-service of hearing notices.

While the claimants’ counsel, O. Ogbewe, said the defendants had been served with court processes, Soji Oyetayo, counsel to the fifth defendant, maintained that he had not received the hearing notice.

Justice Dapo Adeniji consequently adjourned the matter to January 21, 2027, directing that fresh hearing notices be issued and served.

As the legal battle unfolds, the Apetumodu throne has become a chessboard of competing claims, with a dethroned monarch seeking to reclaim his place in a palace whose doors may already be opening to a successor.