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Four Gospel Artistes Found Dead inside Lagos Music Studio

Published

4 weeks ago

February 8, 2026

Eric

A gospel musician, Matthew Ogundele, and three members of his crew, have been found dead inside a music studio in the Abraham Adesanya area of Ajah, Lagos State.

The other victims were identified as Itunu Ogundele, Joseph Sanya, and a blogger, Matthew Awosanya, popularly known as JoesTv.

Reports said that the deceased were invited to minister on Tuesday, the second day of a three-day birthday praise programme organised by fellow gospel artiste, Olanireti Akinbola.

Reports quoting a police source said the artistes arrived for the programme in the evening and performed late into the night.

Owing to the late hour, they reportedly decided to stay the night in the studio, where they were later discovered dead the following morning.

“The convener organised a three-day birthday praise which began on Monday. Matthew Ogundele and his crew were billed to minister on Tuesday. The programme lasted late, so they decided to sleep over in the studio. It was the next morning that information filtered in that their lifeless bodies had been found,” the source said.

A Christian blog, Omojesu, also reported the incident in a Facebook post, stating that the victims opted to stay overnight because of the distance between the studio and their homes.

“In pursuit of a better life, a blogger known as JoesMediaTv and three musicians were reportedly invited to perform at a virtual birthday praise event at a studio around Ajah. Due to the distance, they decided to sleep over. Sadly, they were said to have passed away in their sleep,” the post read.

The matter was subsequently reported at the Ajiwe Police Station, Ajah, while colleagues and friends of the deceased have taken to social media to demand justice.

Images circulating online show traces of blood around the noses, mouths, and ears of the victims, triggering public concern and speculation over the circumstances of their deaths.

Confirming the incident, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, said the case was reported on Wednesday by the studio owner, Akintayo Akinbola, who is also the husband of the celebrant.

According to her, Akinbola told the police that he left the artistes in his studio – located within the HFP Shopping Complex – on Tuesday night after buying food for them while they prepared for a music concert.

“He stated that the artistes returned to the studio with the food while he went home. However, at about 11am on Wednesday, he returned and discovered that the studio door was locked from inside.

“He raised the alarm, and the door was forced open. Upon entry, the lifeless bodies of the four artistes were found inside the studio,” Adebisi said.

She added that detectives immediately visited the scene and documented their findings, noting that no visible signs of violence were observed on the bodies.

“The corpses were taken to the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, where a medical doctor confirmed them dead. They were later deposited at the Mainland General Hospital mortuary for autopsy and preservation,” she said.

Adebisi also disclosed that the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba, for comprehensive investigation to determine the exact cause of death.

Featured

Akume Leads Nigeria’s Delegation to Jesse Jackson’s Funeral in US

Published

5 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has approved a five-person delegation to represent Nigeria at the final burial rites of Rev. Jesse Jackson, the American civil rights leader, activist and former presidential candidate who died at age 84 on February 17, 2026, in Chicago.

Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, is the leader of the delegation, according to a press statement from the Presidency on Wednesday.

Other members are the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa; the Special Presidential Envoy for Global and Pan-African Affairs, Brian Browne; and the Senior Special Assistant, Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaye.

The delegation will deliver President Tinubu’s message of condolences to the Jackson family.

In an earlier tribute, President Tinubu described Reverend Jackson as a great friend of Nigeria and Africa.

“He was a moral voice and a formidable resistance to apartheid in South Africa. He played a leading role in the campaign for the release from prison of Nelson Mandela and other African National Congress leaders. He won critical support for sanctions against the then apartheid government,” President Tinubu wrote.

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Tinubu Nominates Oyedele As Minister of State for Finance, Moves Anite-Uzoka to Budget Ministry

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has announced that “President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Doris Anite-Uzoka.

“Mrs Anite-Uzoka will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

“President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Mr Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

“Mr Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

“He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.

“He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

“Mr Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.”

Featured

Defection: Atiku’s Son, Adamu, Resigns As Adamawa Commissioner

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Adamu Abubakar, the first son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has resigned as Adamawa State’s commissioner for works and energy development, days after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Abubakar’s resignation letter, dated 2 March 2026, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. He gave no reason for his departure.

The timing is pointed. Fintiri announced his defection to the APC in a statewide broadcast last Friday, saying his cabinet and the PDP’s state structure had moved with him. Within 24 hours, 22 commissioners and special advisers publicly announced they were following suit. Abubakar, whose father remains one of the PDP’s most prominent national figures, was not among them.

In a statement issued Monday night, Abubakar’s media aide Abdulaziz Jauro said the former commissioner thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged continued loyalty to the administration’s developmental agenda. He also expressed gratitude to his father “for granting him the moral support and blessing to serve the people of Adamawa State” — a line that, read in context, suggests Atiku was consulted on the decision.

Abubakar said his resignation was not a withdrawal from public life. “This does not mark the end of his commitment to public service,” the statement read, “but rather the beginning of new avenues for developmental collaboration.”

The resignation leaves unresolved the question of whether it reflects a political break with the governor over his defection or a personal decision unconnected to the broader party realignment now reshaping Adamawa’s political landscape.