New worries about actress Temitope Osoba’s death

Since actress Temitope Osoba passed away, mixed stories and new claims about her last days have raised questions about how she died.

Osoba died on August 5, 2026, at the age of 40. But the talk about her death got louder after her fiancé, Prophet Itunu Onadeko, disputed claims that she died from poisoning or issues linked to breast cancer.

Things changed again on August 12 when the Osoba and Awonuga families postponed her burial indefinitely. It was supposed to take place the next day, just after a candlelight vigil and an artists’ night held in her memory in Lagos.

In a statement, the families said they postponed the burial to sort out some issues and make further arrangements before announcing a new date.

Onadeko said he got a call in the middle of the night telling him that Osoba had died at a police station in Ikorodu.

He also refuted claims that he took money meant for Osoba’s cancer treatment but accused her of being a drug addict. The Osoba family, however, shared a different story of what happened before her death.

According to the family, Osoba reconnected with her paternal aunt, Mrs Kehinde-Osoba Eritosin, in May 2025. They said she opened up to her aunt about her personal troubles and relationship issues.

The family claimed that in the days before her death, Osoba reached out to her aunt for help, asking her to intervene in her relationship with Onadeko.

They said Osoba’s health worsened on August 4 after a friend and hairdresser reported that she hadn’t slept, was acting strangely, and making unsettling comments about death.

She was taken to Igbogbo Police Station in Ikorodu after causing a disturbance in traffic.

The family said the police later released her to her friend and two maternal sisters. This was after her aunt, who was away, asked that they take her to her church for care.

But instead, they took her to another church for prayers before her relatives decided to take her to Sagamu. The family said her condition got worse during the trip, leading them to a private hospital before she was referred to the Ogun State University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu.

Sadly, they claimed Osoba died in the vehicle before she could get medical help.

The mixed stories have raised questions about what happened between the time the actress was at the police station in Ikorodu and when she died in Sagamu.

The controversy has also drawn remarks from actress Basira Badia, who claimed that Osoba was mistreated before she died. Badia said she has evidence to support her claims and will share it after the burial. These claims have not been verified.

There are also worries in Nollywood about how much help Osoba received during her final days and after her death.

Actress Toyosi Adesanya, who is the National Director of Social and Welfare of the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria, said some colleagues initially refused to help with Osoba’s burial because they claimed she wasn’t a member of the association.

Meanwhile, the controversy has led the Celestial Church of Christ to start looking into the circumstances around the actress’ death. The church, through its Head of Media and Publicity Worldwide, Kayode Ajala, said it has begun a discreet investigation following claims involving Onadeko, who is a shepherd in the church.

The church also rejected claims that its beliefs allow for practices like black magic, cultism, or the use of charms.

With Osoba’s burial now postponed indefinitely and different accounts coming from her close ones, the details of the actress’ last hours are under close examination.

The ongoing church investigation and any more evidence from the family or others could shed light on what happened to Osoba between the Ikorodu incident and her death in Sagamu.