Anxiety is reportedly mounting of the whereabouts of Osun monarch, the Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede -who has not been seen by his subjects for almost a year now. His disappearance has also been surrounded by speculations.
The monarch, a US-based accountant and information system expert, was appointed new Apetu in July 2019. He succeeded Oba James Adegoke, who died on November 26, 2017.
According to reports, he had been regularly shuttling between Nigeria and his base in the US since his installation.
The last time he left his domain was March 2024, and till date, he he has not been seen in Ipetumodu of anywhere -fueling speculations about his whereabouts.
While some people said Oba Oloyede was indisposed and was recuperating in the US, many others have maintained that the monarch was facing trial for fraud.
According to a story by Punch, many of the traditional chiefs had stopped going to the palace and the king had missed critical community events.
One of the chiefs said “Last December, we were told he would come back to town before January ended, but it’s now February and we haven’t seen him. But during the town’s annual event this year, we saw someone that looked like our monarch on screen through a projector. But we didn’t see his face. He told the gathering that he was not in prison and promised to come back by January ending. In 2024, we were told he was sick but since then, we have not seen him in town and nobody knows where he is”.
However, PUNCH noted that around the time the monarch travelled in 2024, the US indicted one Joseph Oloyede (61), and another defendant, Edward Oluwasanmi (61), for their alleged roles in a scheme to fraudulently obtain $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
Source: Punch
