The maternal uncle of late gospel singer Toluwanisings has broken his silence, accusing the singer’s wife of making claims that damaged their family’s reputation as his remains were laid to rest in Ibadan on Monday.
Babatunde, who identified himself as the younger brother of Toluwanisings’ mother, said the family had been urged to speak publicly even before the wife’s visit to Ikirun. He explained that they eventually agreed to an interview with Mr Dumininu, a local interviewer, specifically to respond to her allegations.
“Once again, my name is Babatunde. I am the younger brother of the mother of the late gospel singer, Toluwanisings. People have been calling us from different places, urging us to come out and grant interviews. What exactly is the purpose of these interviews? Is it for a campaign or what?”
He continued:
“People from different places were encouraging us to speak out even before Toluwanisings’ wife came to Ikirun and allegedly tried to tarnish our image by claiming that our family was responsible for Toluwanisings neglecting his father’s family and that we were the ones putting pressure on him.”
Babatunde rejected the suggestion that the maternal side had created friction.
“Is it a crime for a younger brother who has money to help an elder brother who is in need?” he asked.
He added that the family chose Dumininu because he is the main interviewer used in Ikirun and that their sole intention was to clear their names.
“We only came here to clear our names and set the record straight. Whether it was six months or eight months, they brought foodstuffs or sent money. Everything they are saying is different from what I have said here. What I have said here is the truth, and all those other claims are lies,” he said.
Toluwanisings, whose full name was Olayemi Bayonile Bolaji, died in the early hours of October 14, 2026, in Ibadan after reportedly slumping. No official cause of death has been released. His personal assistant previously claimed the singer was turned away by several hospitals while seeking emergency care.
The death quickly sparked a public dispute over burial. His father, Muniru Olayemi, wanted him interred at the house he built in Ibadan or beside his late mother in Osun State. Reports said the widow, Olayemi Elizabeth Damilola (also referred to as Akanbi Elizabeth), preferred a cemetery or church burial and was uncomfortable with a home interment. Paternal relatives called for an investigation and threatened to exhume the body if he was buried in a cemetery. On November 3, the Oyo State Police Command brokered a peace undertaking involving the widow, the father, and associates. The singer was buried on Monday in Ibadan after a lying-in-state and service at Banjola Event and Conference Centre, Alakia. Reports indicate the interment took place at his residence following the agreement.
Earlier maternal-family accounts had already challenged the father’s version of the singer’s childhood, saying the mother died when the child was about nine months old after travelling north and that the maternal side raised him. Age, upbringing, and financial support remain contested points across the families.Babatunde’s interview adds the maternal side’s direct rebuttal to the wife’s alleged claims as the burial concludes. The episode closes weeks of open family tension over where and how the gospel minister should rest.