Alaafin Saga: EFCC Probes Prince Gbadegesin, Kingmakers Over Alleged Bribery, Debt Scandal

365NEWS gathered that On Friday, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde approved the appointment of Prince Abimbola Owoade as the new Alaafin of Oyo.

Makinde communicated the approval to the general public via Dotun Oyelade, the state’s commissioner for information and orientation.

Owoade succeeds the late Oba Lamidi Adeyemi who died on April 22, 2022, aged 83.

Interestingly, the announcement came a day after five kingmakers in Oyo Town rejected a directive issued by the governor to initiate a fresh selection process for the Alaafin of Oyo throne.

The kingmakers, consisting of Yusuf Akinade, the Basorun of Oyo; Wakeel Akindele, the Lagunna of Oyo; Hamzat Yusuf, the Akinniku of Oyo; Wahab Oyetunji, a warrant chief standing in for the Asipa of Oyo; and Gbadebo Mufutau, a warrant chief standing in for the Alapinni of Oyo, went on to insist that Lukman Gbadegesin, another kingship aspirant, had already been chosen as the new monarch.

In a letter addressed to Makinde, the kingmakers accused the governor of undermining an ongoing court case concerning the selection process.

They also described the governor’s actions as illegal and a violation of judicial authority.

On July 6, 2024, FIJ reported that Lamidi Oyewale and Asimiyu Atanda, two Oyomesi chiefs, told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) how Gbadegesin offered each of the five kingmakers in the kingdom N15 million bribes during the Alaafin selection process.

At the time, S.M. Galadanchi, the EFCC counsel, told a high court in Oyo State that Atanda and Oyewale had admitted to the EFCC that the kingmakers decided to choose Gbadegesin as Alaafin Candidate after he offered them N15 million each.

Before the hearing, the court had rejected the Oyomesi chiefs’ request to stop the EFCC from probing them for taking bribes from Gbadegesin. The chiefs had also claimed the Oyo State Government was using the EFCC to witch-hunt them.

The chiefs’ application was rejected on grounds of incompetence.

In April 2023, articles and rumours claimed Gbadegesin had been crowned the new Alaafin of Oyo. FIJ found these rumours and some pro-Gbadegesin reports to be disinformation. The state government would, however, later respond that it had not given assent to any new Alaafin.

Makinde further said at the time that he refused to approve any candidate’s name because the Oyomesi had not followed due process.

FIJ had exposed Gbadegesin for his history of bad business and the multimillion-naira debt he once created for a friend.

On May 20, 2023, FIJ published a story on how Gbadegesin chose not to repay a N20 million loan that Omosalewa Akinleye, his UK-based friend, helped him secure from a bank in 2021.

When the loan became N48 million due to several months of unpaid principal and interest, Akinleye resorted to selling her assets so she could pay the interest.

To make matters worse, Gbadegesin issued three Wema Bank cheques totalling N48 million to clear the debt at the time but they could not be cashed. There were no funds in the Wema Bank account when Gbadegesin issued the cheques on it.

When the matter was reported at the Nigeria Police Headquarters in Abuja, Gbadegesin ended up paying N23 million out of the N48 million consolidated loan.

By then, Akinleye had become a high blood pressure patient due to the stress and anxiety she was subjected to. It was later revealed that Gbadegesin had planned to spend about N200 million in his bid to become the next Alaafin of Oyo.

Before the story was published, FIJ reached out to Gbadegesin for a reaction to Akinleye’s accusations but he did not issue a response. Three days later, he made an additional payment of N9.2 million, leaving a balance of N15.8 million.

Other sources spoke to FIJ about their fear of Gbadegesin and regret of ever doing business with him.