The legal battle over the vacant Apetumodu stool of Ipetumodu in Osun State has taken a new turn, with the dethroned monarch, Oba Joseph Oloyede, asking a court to stop Governor Ademola Adeleke from appointing his successor.
Oloyede, who was removed from the throne following his conviction in the United States, is the second claimant in suit No. HIF/50/2026 filed before the Osun State High Court sitting in Ile-Ife.
In a motion on notice dated September 16, 2026, the deposed monarch sought an interlocutory injunction restraining Adeleke and other defendants from taking any step to fill the Apetumodu stool pending the determination of the substantive suit.
He alleged that neither the governor nor the relevant state officials formally informed him of any wrongdoing before bdzj huzlfcf to depose him.
Oloyede also challenged the legality of the deposition order, referring to a May 11, 2026 report by The Guardian that stated Adeleke had signed a deposition instrument dated May 7.
According to the application, Oloyede claimed that he was not given an opportunity to respond to any allegation before the order was issued.
The motion seeks an order restraining the defendants, either directly or through their agents, servants or privies, from appointing another person to occupy the Apetumodu stool until the court determines the substantive case.
Other claimants are Prince Oyewusi Adewusi, Prince Isaac Adewuni and Prince Abiodun Oyetoro, who instituted the action for themselves and on behalf of other members of the Latimogun Royal Family of the Aribile Ruling House of Ipetumodu.
Defendants in the suit include Governor Adeleke, the Osun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Afolabi Adedeji, the Asalu of Ipetumodu and head of the kingmakers, Chief Adesoye Babalola, the Malefon of Ipetumodu, and Ife North Local Government.
Proceedings in the case were stalled on Monday after a dispute over the service of hearing notices.
Only counsel for the claimants, O. Ogbewe, and Soji Oyetayo, who represented the fifth defendant, Chief Adesoye Babalola, appeared before the court.
Ogbewe told the court that the defendants had been served with the relevant processes.
Oyetayo, however, said he had not received the hearing notice and asked for an adjournment to enable the claimants to properly serve all the parties.
Justice Dapo Adeniji consequently adjourned the matter until January 21, 2027.
He also ordered that fresh hearing notices be issued and served on the defendants.
Adeleke approved Oloyede’s deposition in May 2026 after the Osun State Government obtained a Certified True Copy of the United States court judgment on the monarch’s conviction.
Oloyede was sentenced by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to 56 months in prison after pleading guilty to offences including wire fraud, making false tax returns and monetary transactions involving criminally derived property.
The Osun State Government said the deposition was based on the conviction and the need to protect the integrity of the traditional institution.
It subsequently declared the stool vacant and indicated that a process for selecting a successor would be undertaken.
