British newspapers, The Sun, Mail and others have described the Oluwo of Iwo Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi as a conman and former convict in separate reports on Sunday.
The separate reports were published by The Sun and The Mail, among others.
The Sun report reads, “A Nigerian King who Prince Harry called his “in-law” is reportedly a conman and has been deported from the US twice.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a three-day visit to Nigeria last weekend.
“The Sussexes kicked off their “faux-Royal tour” with a visit to Lightway Academy, a primary and secondary school in the capital.
“They then went to Nigeria’s defence HQ on Friday to meet military wives and senior officials.
“The following day Harry was snapped playing volleyball, before Meghan referred to Nigeria as “my country”.
“During their visit, the pair also met with the kings of four different states in Lagos on Sunday.
“At the gathering, Harry playfully called the Nigerian royals his “in- laws” and said “I’ll skip the protocol because at this point we’re all family”.
“Among them was the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi of Osun State.
The 56-year-old, known as the “Funky King”, presented the Sussexes with several gifts and said to Meghan: “Thank God you are one of us.”
He also gave the Duchess, 42, the Yoruba name Adetokunbo – meaning “royalty from across the seas”.
READ ALSO:Ukraine can use British weapons inside Russia, says Cameron
“His wife Queen Firdaus posed for a photo with Meghan and later posted on her Instagram account.
“Akanbi, who drives a canary yellow McLaren supercar, was also pictured shaking hands with the Duke of Sussex, 39.
“But the Nigerian royal is a convicted fraudster who was twice kicked out of America, according to the Mail on Sunday.
“He was allegedly first arrested in Boston in 1998 after he tried to cash a stolen cheque for £247,000 from aviation company Boeing.
“Akanbi posed as a successful businessman called Joseph Pigott but cops were alerted by a suspicious bank teller at BankBoston.
“The conman was also charged for forging a cheque for £59,000 using the name Thomas Eyring.
“He was reportedly jailed for 15 months and deported to Nigeria in April 1999.
“His £1,500 fine was waived ‘”because of an inability to pay’”, the Mail reported.
Despite being banned from re-entering the US, he was then said to have been caught attempting to cross the border in March 2011.
Akanbi was with his then-wife Rakiya Saidu and young son and claimed they were going to New York to shop.
Facing the prospect of a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a £197,000 fine, Akanbi pleaded guilty.
“He was sentenced to time served, deported and banned from the US for life for a second time.”
