Toluwanisings’ Death: UCH denies record of singer’s visit amid hospital rejection claims

The University College Hospital, Ibadan, says it has no official record showing that gospel singer Toluwanisings was brought to the facility, following allegations that several hospitals turned him away while his team sought emergency treatment.

The University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, has responded to allegations that hospitals in the Oyo State capital failed to provide emergency treatment to gospel singer Olayemi Bolaji, popularly known as Toluwanisings, before his death.

The controversy followed claims by the singer’s personal assistant, Babadunni Olayemi, that efforts to secure medical attention for the artiste proved unsuccessful after he collapsed.

Speaking to newsmen, the assistant said the singer was taken to between seven and eight hospitals in Ibadan, where some facilities reportedly cited a doctors’ strike while others allegedly refused to admit him.

“They took him to different hospitals. Some said the doctors were on strike, while others said he was rejected at the hospitals. We all tried, praying for him and taking him around to hospitals. We took him to about seven or eight different hospitals here in Ibadan, but God said it was his time,” he said.

The allegations triggered public criticism and renewed concerns about access to emergency healthcare in Nigeria, with some Nigerians linking the reported difficulties to industrial action at UCH.

However, the hospital’s Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Enitan, said the facility was providing services and that its management had no official record of Toluwanisings being brought there.

“The hospital is running its services. The strike was a local one within the hospital; it was not a national strike. I was not aware that he was brought to UCH. I was not officially informed that he was brought to UCH. There was no record of it with the management,” Enitan said.

Her statement did not independently establish whether the singer or his team visited the hospital, but the hospital maintained that management had no official record of such a visit.

The allegations emerged amid industrial action by resident doctors at UCH. The Association of Resident Doctors at the hospital suspended a three-day warning strike on October 15, 2026, and directed its members to resume duty.

The strike had raised concerns about possible disruptions to medical services at the tertiary institution. However, the available accounts do not establish whether industrial action or a specific hospital’s decision directly contributed to the singer’s death.

The Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, told newsmen that she was unaware of the incident when contacted by the newspaper.

The state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, did not respond to the newspaper’s calls and message, according to the report.

Toluwanisings’ death has prompted wider debate about the availability of timely emergency medical treatment, particularly when patients need urgent attention and must be transferred between facilities.

However, the allegations that hospitals refused to treat the singer have not been independently established for each facility involved. The names of the hospitals allegedly visited and detailed accounts of their responses were not provided in the information reviewed.

As of the reports published on October 17, 2026, no confirmed medical cause of death had been publicly established in the sources reviewed.

The circumstances surrounding the singer’s final hours have therefore left questions about the care he sought, the hospitals reportedly approached and whether delays occurred.

The case has renewed calls for improved emergency response systems and clearer accountability when patients seek urgent medical attention.