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The family of Yoruba Nollywood actress and producer, Tope Osoba, has provided an account of the circumstances surrounding her death, saying she had been battling emotional distress, unmanaged worries and health challenges before her death.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that her colleagues announced her death on Instagram on 5 August, following her prolonged battle with breast cancer.
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In a statement issued on Wednesday, and dated 12 August, and signed by Damilola Osoba on behalf of the family, the Osoba family said Tope died on Tuesday, 4 August, following what it described as “a long spell of emotional distress inflicted by unmanaged worries, depression and self-medication.”
The family, however, said Tope had recovered from a previous battle with cancer, but became emotionally vulnerable following the death of her biological mother and her subsequent personal experiences.
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The statement described Tope as “a responsible daughter of the Osoba family of Abeokuta, Ogun State” and “a highly cerebral and resourceful daughter”. Still, it said she later became emotionally dysfunctional after losing her mother.
Family reconnection
According to the family, Tope reconnected with her paternal aunt, Revd Mother Kehinde Osoba Eritosin, in May 2025 after severing ties with her maternal family in Iperu and blocking their telephone lines.
The family said Tope had appealed to Revd Mother Osoba to reintegrate her into the Osoba family, seeking parental attention and care as she struggled with difficult personal circumstances.
“Since then, she has been confiding in Revd Mother Kehinde Osoba about her life situations and marital troubles, always requesting her to intervene in her life matters,” the statement said.
The family explained that Revd Mother Osoba subsequently adopted Tope after consulting key family members. She was introduced to her children and added to the family’s chat group so they could monitor, guide, and care for her.
The statement added that Revd Mother Osoba remained in regular contact with Tope and had continued to support her. It cited an instance about five weeks before her death when she bought and sent Tope an aso ebi for a family function in Victoria Island, Lagos. However, Tope was unable to collect it from the dispatch rider.
Calls for intervention
The family said concerns about Tope’s condition became more serious in the days preceding her death.
It said Tope made a “frantic call” to Revd Mother Osoba on 31 July, asking for intervention in what it described as her worsening health and marital situation with her fiancé, with whom she had lived for about two years.
The family further said that while receiving treatment and medical drips for an undisclosed illness on 2 August, Tope contacted Revd Mother Osoba again and asked her to speak with her fiancé. She subsequently sent his telephone number to her aunt.
According to the statement, Revd Mother Osoba immediately contacted the fiancé and asked him to meet with her urgently over Tope’s situation.
“He promised to see Mother Osoba on the following Tuesday after Tope died,” the family said.
The family also revealed that Revd Mother Osoba had invited Tope’s fiancé for an urgent meeting after receiving disturbing expressions, voice notes and messages from Tope concerning her worsening condition.
However, the meeting did not take place before Tope’s death.
Incident in Ikorodu
The family said that on 4 August, Revd Mother Osoba received a call from Tope’s female friend and hairdresser, who reported that Tope had been unable to sleep throughout the previous night, was behaving strangely and making disturbing statements about death.
The family said Revd Mother Osoba then instructed that Tope be brought to her church in Ikorodu for medical and spiritual care.
However, while Revd Mother Osoba was attending an eight-day service of songs for the late Supreme Head of the C&S Unification Church in the Abule Egba area of Lagos, she received a call from the Divisional Police Officer of Igbogbo Police Station, Ikorodu.
According to the family, the DPO informed her that a woman, identified as Tope Osoba, was in police custody after causing a traffic disturbance in the Ita-Elewa area of Ikorodu.
The statement said Tope had allegedly acted strangely in traffic, got out of the vehicle and began screaming, prompting those with her to seek police intervention.
Revd Mother Osoba, according to the family, confirmed that Tope was her daughter and told the DPO she would come to the station.
However, because of traffic delays on her journey from Abule Egba to Ikorodu, she asked that Tope be released and taken to her church, where she would meet them for further care.
The family said the police subsequently released Tope to her friend and two maternal sisters, who had arrived at the station from Sagamu.
Church prayers
The family said that rather than wait for Revd Mother Osoba to return from the C&S programme in Abule Egba, Tope’s handlers decided to take her to another spiritual centre in Ikorodu.
According to the statement, Tope was taken to a celestial church, where prayers were offered, and she was given water and drinks.
Her maternal cousins later decided to take her to their residence in Sagamu.
The family said Revd Mother Osoba repeatedly called Tope and her friend while they were returning from Abule Egba, but neither call was answered.
It said she was unaware at the time that Tope’s maternal cousins had taken her from Ikorodu to Sagamu with her consent.
Strange reactions, death
According to the family, Tope later developed strange physical reactions and suffered a relapse after drinking cold water while being transported to Sagamu.
“She later had strange body reactions and health relapse in the vehicle after taking some cold water, and later became uncomfortable, stretching and knocking her cousins together in the vehicle on their way to Sagamu,” the statement said.
The family said her cousins subsequently took her to a private hospital in Sagamu after her condition deteriorated.
The doctor, it said, considered her condition critical and referred her to the Ogun State University Teaching Hospital (OSUTH) in Sagamu for further treatment.
“However, on getting to OSUTH, according to those with her, Tope passed away in the vehicle even before the doctors at OSUTH attended to her,” the family stated.
Family appeals for restraint
The statement noted that Revd Mother Osoba only learnt of Tope’s death the following day, Wednesday, after she tried repeatedly to reach Tope’s friend.
According to the family, the friend informed her that attempts had been made to reach her before they eventually left her church in Ikorodu and took Tope to her maternal relatives in Sagamu.
The family said Tope subsequently died inside the vehicle while they were in Sagamu.
The Osoba family said it issued the clarification to address concerns surrounding Tope’s death and urged members of the public to allow the family to mourn privately.
“The above clarifications have become necessary as we would like all sympathisers and the general public to be calm and allow us to mourn our daughter at this very sad period of her unexpected death.
“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 statement read.
The family thanked Tope’s friends, colleagues, associates, fans and members of the public for their sympathy and support following her death.
It added that a memorial service would be organised for the actress after due consultation, with the date to be announced by the Osoba family.
On 17 November 2024, this newspaper reported that Temitope Osoba sought financial assistance after undergoing her first breast cancer surgery. She later announced that she had overcome the disease and was recovering in her final Instagram post on 4 August 2025.
A graduate of Business Education from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Osoba began her acting career in 2005 with a role in Ijoya, produced by Laide Bakare.
The actress gained prominence in 2009 after starring in Dayo Amusa’s Ogun Mi and went on to feature in films including Ifedolapo, Accident and Gucci Girls. She also worked as a dancer, appearing in Pasuma’s High Level music video and videos by Olu Maintain, Adewale Ayuba and other artistes.
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