The Osoba family of Abeokuta, Ogun State, has appealed to the public to refrain from sensationalising the death of their daughter, Tope Osoba, saying she died on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, during a prolonged period of emotional distress and health challenges.

In a statement signed by Damilola Osoba on behalf of the family, the family said Tope, whom it described as a cerebral and resourceful woman, had struggled emotionally following the death of her biological mother and her experience with cancer, from which she later temporarily recovered.

The family said Tope had also experienced marital difficulties and, in May 2025, reached out to her paternal aunt, Revd Mother Kehinde Osoba Eritosin, asking to be reintegrated into the Osoba family after becoming estranged from her maternal relatives in Iperu.

According to the family, Tope subsequently became close to Revd Mother Osoba, who adopted her as a daughter after consulting key members of the family.

The statement said Tope regularly confided in Mother Osoba about her personal and marital challenges and sought her intervention in resolving them.

The family said that on July 31, Tope made an urgent call to Mother Osoba, asking for help over her worsening health and relationship with her fiancé, with whom she had lived for about two years.

It added that on August 2, while receiving medical treatment, Tope again contacted Mother Osoba and asked her to speak with her fiancé. She subsequently sent his telephone number to her aunt.

“Moved by Tope’s struggle with worsening life situations as well as her frosty relationship with family members of her fiancé, Mummy Osoba, Tope’s adopted mother, immediately put a call through to Tope’s fiancé and asked him to see her urgently,” the family said.

However, according to the statement, the fiancé promised to meet Mother Osoba the following Tuesday, the same day Tope died.

The family further explained that Mother Osoba had invited the fiancé for an urgent meeting after receiving disturbing messages and voice notes from Tope concerning her deteriorating condition.

On the day of Tope’s death, the family said a female friend and hairdresser contacted Mother Osoba, reporting that Tope had not slept throughout the previous night and was behaving unusually.

Mother Osoba then reportedly asked that Tope be brought to her church in Ikorodu for medical and spiritual care.

However, Mother Osoba was attending an eight-day service of songs in honour of the late Baba Aladura Alogbo, Supreme Head of the C&S Unification Church, in the Abule Egba area of Lagos, and was unable to get to Ikorodu immediately.

The family said that while she was at the programme, Mother Osoba received a call from the Divisional Police Officer at Igbogbo Police Station informing her that Tope and some other people had been brought to the station after an incident around the Ita-Elewa area of Ikorodu.

According to the statement, Tope had allegedly behaved strangely in traffic, exited the vehicle and started screaming, causing a disturbance.

Mother Osoba reportedly confirmed to the police that Tope was her daughter and said she would come to the station. However, because of traffic delays, she asked that Tope be released and taken to her church, where she would meet them after leaving the C&S programme.

The family said Tope was subsequently released into the care of her friend and two maternal relatives who had arrived from Sagamu.

However, rather than wait for Mother Osoba at her church, the group reportedly took Tope to another spiritual centre in Ikorodu, where she received prayers and was given water and drinks.

Her maternal relatives later decided to take her to Sagamu, according to the family.

The statement said several calls made by Mother Osoba to Tope and her friend while she was returning from Abule Egba went unanswered.

The family said the relatives later reported that Tope became uncomfortable and experienced a relapse while they were travelling to Sagamu, prompting them to take her to a private hospital before she was referred to the Ogun State University Teaching Hospital (OSUTH) in Sagamu.

“According to her maternal cousins, it was at their private hospital in Sagamu that the doctor, realising that Tope’s condition had become critical, referred her to OSUTH, in Sagamu for better medical care,” the statement said.

The family added that, according to those who accompanied her, Tope died inside the vehicle before she could be attended to by doctors at OSUTH.

Mother Osoba, the statement said, only learnt of Tope’s death the following day after eventually reaching her friend by telephone.

The Osoba family said it released the clarification to correct what it described as possible misconceptions surrounding Tope’s death and to appeal to members of the public to allow the family to mourn.

The family urged friends, sympathisers and members of the public to avoid sensationalising the circumstances of her death on social media.

“God is the ultimate giver and taker of life, and it will not be an honour to Tope to sensationalise her demise on social media but to give her a befitting burial so that her soul can rest in peace,” the family said.

The family thanked Tope’s friends, colleagues, associates, fans and other members of the public for their sympathy and support during the difficult period.

It added that a memorial service would be organised for Tope after due consultation, with the date to be announced later.