The family of veteran Yoruba filmmaker and actor Yekini Ajileye has firmly debunked widespread rumours that witchcraft or spiritual attacks caused his death, revealing instead that he passed away after a prolonged battle with diabetes. In a candid interview on Biola Adebayo’s Talk To Biola podcast, Ajileye’s son, Wasiu, set the record straight and dismissed the circulating claims as false and misleading.
“There were stories going around that my father died because of witches or because of the kind of films he produced. That is not true at all.”
He explained that his father, famous for classic Yoruba movies such as Koto Aye and Koto Orun, lived a peaceful life rooted in faith and generosity, with no mystical forces involved in his passing.
Wasiu described the late actor as a prayerful man who took spiritual matters seriously.
“My father was a very prayerful man. He believed strongly in God and was never someone who joked with spiritual matters in the way people are saying.”
Beyond correcting the cause of death, Wasiu opened up about his father’s character and family dynamics. He portrayed Ajileye as a kind-hearted man whose generosity often extended to others at the expense of his own children.
“He was so accommodating and giving that sometimes it affected us as his children. He would take care of other people’s children more than his own.”
He further alleged that while his father sponsored the education of many non-family children, his own kids did not always receive the same level of support.
“My father sponsored many people’s children through school, but he didn’t really do the same for his own children.”
Wasiu credited their mother with the primary responsibility of raising and supporting the family.
“If any of us made it in life, it was more because of our mother’s effort. My father was not really the type that focused on that aspect.”