University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan has spoken on the death of the gospel singer Aduke Ajayi popularly known as Aduke Gold.
The musician died on Monday, August 12.
Fellow gospel artiste Esther Igbekele broke the news on Tuesday on Instagram.
Esther shared a picture of Aduke Gold along with the caption, “A general has fallen. RIP.”
UCH spokesperson Funmilayo Adetuyibi told BBC that the singer was referred to UCH from Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital in Ogun State on August 3.
Adetuyibi said the treatment was going well before Aduke Gold died in the process of diagnosis.
Unconfirmed reports say she was undergoing treatment for cervical cancer.
After the musician’s death, a video of her family demanding the release of her body went viral.
Following the release, a man said in the video, “Finally, UCH has released Aduke’s body after several hours of shouting, screaming. They finally released it.”
According to Adetuyibi, the people in the video were upset because the hospital did not quickly issue her death certificate.
The spokesperson said where Aduke Gold died was not in the care of the doctor which the family was asking for death certificate.
Adetuyibi said Aduke Gold was in the general ward throughout her stay in UCH, however, she died when she was taken for diagnosis.
She added that the delay occurred because the doctor at the diagnosis area was the one meant to issue the death certificate.
“She was going through diagnosis, it was in the process of diagnosis that she died. She didn’t die in the ward or theatre,” said Adetuyibi, who added she could not give details of the singer’s medical record.
Aduke Gold was not just a singer but also a scholar.
She earned a degree in history and international relations from Lagos State University, thanks to a scholarship from Opeyemi Bamidele, the former commissioner for youths and sports in Lagos State.
Aduke’s academic pursuits didn’t stop there as she also held a higher degree in child psychology, a diploma in montessori education from the UK, and numerous other qualifications in special education, aquaculture, cake making, cookery and decoration, music rudiments, and business.
