The whereabouts of Apetu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Olugbenga Oloyede, is causing ripples in his domain as residents and indigenes of the community are calling for the intervention of the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, in unraveling the mystery behind his disappearance.

Oba Oloyede, a United States of America-based accountant and information system expert, was appointed Apetu in July 2019.

He succeeded Oba James Adegoke, who died on November 26, 2017.

Our correspondents learnt that the royal father had been regularly shuttling between Nigeria and his base in the US since his installation.

However, since March 2024 that he left his domain, he has not been seen, fueling speculations about his whereabouts.

While some of the residents who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of attack said Oloyede was indisposed and was recuperating in the US, many others believed the monarch was facing trial for fraud.

Monarch last seen in March 2024

A chief in Ipetumodu, who spoke on condition of anonymity to Saturday PUNCH, said many of his colleagues, including the Oosa of Ipetumodu, who is next in line to Apetu, had stopped going to the palace.

He said, ?It?s been close to a year now that we have not seen our king in the town.?

The chief noted that Oloyede was also missing critical community events.

?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. It was the IPU Chairman, Joba Akinjogbe, that spoke on behalf of the king during this year?s Christian annual prayer.

?But on the day of the prayer, 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,? he added.

The chief lamented that before the monarch disappeared, he demolished the ?ancient palace? and promised to build a modern one.

?He was not living in the palace. He was staying at his private residence. We told him then that it?s not proper to demolish the entire palace. But now, the entire old palace has been demolished even in his absence. The court was also demolished.

?Some chiefs, led by the Asalu, Sunday Adedeji, are still going to the palace to hold meetings. But the Oosa, who is the second in command to the king, and four others, including myself, are no longer going there for meetings.

?During the last event when the king was projected on screen, a lot of residents said that it was fake and insisted that the only thing they wanted was for the king to come back to the town,? he added.

A reliable source close to the palace said three major festivals ? Odun Egungun (masquerade festival), Odun Edi (Edi festival) and Ota Aaje (Obatala festival) were not graced by the Apetu.

Our correspondent gathered that the monarch was expected to wear an ancient crown and offer iwure (blessings) for the town and his subjects during the Edi festival, which took place in October 2024, but he was nowhere to be found.

The king?s absence from the festivals reportedly created panic in the town.

?It was the king?s wife who represented him and this is against our culture,? the source said. ?It is an abomination for the masquerade to bow to a woman.?

?The king and the Aaje deity are supposed to see each other in a year during the Ota Aaje festival but he was not there. It is a popular belief that the deity gave birth to all the Ipetumodu?s princes. Even the king didn?t attend Ipetumodu Day.?

A member of a royal family who said he could not speak on record for fear of being attacked said the absence of the monarch was impacting negatively on the community.

He claimed that the king?s wife had been running the community as a regent.

The prince said, ?Residents are asking the chiefs about the whereabouts of Oba Oloyede, but the chiefs have not given them any genuine reply. They keep saying he is doing business abroad while some are saying he is sick.

?Our monarch came to Ipetumodu last year in March, but since he left then, we have not seen him in town. Although he doesn?t stay long in Ipetumodu before travelling, this one is the longest that he has not come to the town since he was crowned king in 2019.

?But we saw it online that the king and one Oluwasanmi were involved in a COVID-19 fund scam in America and the American government has indicted him. It was also reported that the government has seized all his property and he was not allowed to travel out of the country.?

Saturday 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 $4.2m in COVID-19 relief funds.

The two suspects were charged with 13 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.

According to a press release by the US Attorney?s Office of the Northern District of Ohio on April 5, 2024, the said suspects floated a series of phony businesses to allegedly receive $4.2m in funds designed to help small businesses and employees survive the coronavirus pandemic.

The statement revealed that both defendants devised a means to defraud financial institutions by obtaining COVID-19 relief funds from SBA?s Economic Injury Disaster Loan programme and the Paycheck Protection Programme under false pretenses.

?Oloyede is also alleged to have submitted falsified PPP and EIDL loan applications in the names of other co-conspirators and confederate borrowers and their businesses, obtaining approximately $1.3m through those applications for a total of at least $4.2m obtained through the fraud,? the statement added.

Oloyede and Oluwasanmi had property in Medina and Willoughby, respectively, and were charged by a federal court in Cleveland.

However, both men were released on $20,000 unsecured bonds.

Cleveland.com, a reputable media organisation in the US, while quoting court records, reported that Oloyede is the owner of Available Tax Services, a consultant business in Bedford Heights.

He reportedly created several other businesses that did little or no real business, lied on applications for loans and recruited others to fill out fraudulent forms.

The court indictment said those who filled out the forms paid him and his casemate, Oluwasanmi, kickbacks for organising the fake filings.

Oloyede, according to court records, used some of the money to pay a contractor $24,473 for work on his Foote Road home.

Prosecutors are seeking to seize Oloyede?s home, which he bought in 2021 for $130,000.

An indictment is only a charge and is no evidence of guilt until trial is concluded and the government proves the case beyond reasonable doubt.

A popular king in Osun State warned Saturday PUNCH against linking Oloyede with the ongoing fraud case since his middle name, ?Olugbenga? was missing from the charge and there was no picture to prove he was the one arraigned.

?If it was the monarch, it would have been stated in the charge and even western media would have published the story because he is a first-class king,? the Monarch stated.

Findings by Saturday PUNCH suggested that the Oloyede facing trial in the US might be the same Oba of Ipetumodu.

Investigations by our correspondents revealed that the monarch was born on December 7th, 1962. He is of the same age with the defendant standing trial in the US.

Also, around the time of his travel to the US was when the trial of the Oloyede in Cleveland happened.

Oloyede the monarch claimed to have served as an assistant professor of accounting at the Indiana Wesleyan University, Cleveland Education Center. The Oloyede on trial had a close connection with Cleveland.

While these may be said to be circumstantial, a further dig into his social media reveals further details.

A check on LinkedIn showed Oba ?Joseph Oloyede DBA, FCA, EA? in his royal apparel. Under his profile photo is the tag: professor, tax consultant. His location is indicated as Greater Cleveland.

The LinkedIn profile showed a high amount of personal and professional engagements.

Although he rarely shares posts on the platform, there are several comments he made on other people?s posts, mostly reacting and congratulating friends and family members on their achievements.

About four years ago, while commenting on the graduation photos of one ?Elizabeth Ajadi,? he wrote, ?Omo Oba. Congratulations. Fly like an eagle; the sky is just the beginning. More blessings.?

The celebrant then replied, ?Thank you Kabiyesi.?

The ?About? column stated clearly that his specialties included corporate and individual taxes; bookkeeping; payroll service; business incorporation and management consulting.

He had 79 endorsements, including 20 from his former colleagues at the Indiana Wesleyan University, where he claimed to have served between June 2003 and May 2021.

Oloyede also gave five recommendations to some professional colleagues.

The only article he posted on January 19, 2016, showed him advertising a company: Available Tax Services.

The post, titled, ?It is Tax Time Again?, read, ?File for taxes and get a chance to win one of three 32? TV sets. No purchase necessary, not valid where prohibited.

?At Available Tax Services, every customer gets a gift. That is our way of appreciating your business.

?Honesty, integrity and accuracy are the premise of our professional excellence.?

His ?Contact Info? on LinkedIn showed links to the company?s website and a sister company, AvailableTutors. The Oloyede standing trial in the US is the owner of Available Tax Services.

In a speech he delivered at the New Year prayer organised by the Ipetumodu Christian community, where he addressed residents via a projector, Oloyede rained curses on his enemies.

The royal father, in the footage seen by Saturday PUNCH, while speaking in Yoruba, said, ?I give thanks to God because the wishes of the enemies didn?t come to pass. Some people won?t even believe that it is me speaking.

?They will think we recorded this speech to deceive you. I give thanks to God for keeping us throughout last year. I also thank Ipetumodu community for standing by me. All the lies being peddled around; I have told God, whoever writes nonsense about me won?t write anything good in his life. The one written just two days ago, the author will die this year.?

When one of our correspondents contacted him via WhatsApp and read the indictment charges to him from the US Ministry of Justice, he did not give a direct response.

Speaking in Yoruba, Oloyede said, ?A person may choose to say whatever pleases him with his mouth. No one follows me here. Not everything you see on the Internet should be believed. And then, every story will always have two sides.

?There are so many enemies and whatever pleases a person, he will use his mouth to say. So many people don?t want the progress of my community. I am having a rest.

?And if a king is not dead, another one can?t be installed. Those that vied for the throne with me before I was appointed are already running around, saying they wanted to replace me, even people from my ruling house are involved.

?There are a lot of stories flying around; lies being peddled around. A lot has been pushed out. Some of them said I have been convicted.?

Asked when he would return to his domain, he said, ?There is a specific period I used to come here to work. Whoever doesn?t work, won?t have money. There is no special vote that a king will draw from. That is why I have been shuttling between my domain and here (US). I have not suffered paralysis. Am I not the one you are talking to now? I am not on the deathbed.? (Saturday PUNCH, excluding headline)

Update news