Heavy Security as Toluwanising Laid to Rest; Widow Refuses Front-of-House Burial

By Segun Adebayo

Gospel singer Toluwanisings has been laid to rest inside his residence in Ibadan, Oyo State, amid heavy security presence, bringing an end to weeks of uncertainty and disagreement over his final resting place.

The singer was buried inside the house, but not at the front of the building, as his widow reportedly insisted that he should not be laid to rest at a spot where she and their children would wake up every day to see his grave.

The decision to bury him at another spot within the house appeared to have provided a compromise following the disagreement between his widow and paternal relatives over his final resting place.

The funeral proceedings began with a lying-in-state at Banjola Event and Conference Centre, No. 20, Hope Road, Alakia, Ibadan, where family members, friends and gospel music associates gathered to pay their last respects.

The ceremony commenced with the arrival of the singer’s remains in a black hearse, accompanied by trumpeters, while mourners gathered around his white coffin to bid him farewell.

The lying-in-state began at about 9 a.m., with the funeral service following at 10 a.m.

After the service, his remains were transported to his residence, where he was buried in a private ceremony attended by members of his immediate family and other invited guests.

His widow, Elizabeth Damilola Olayemi, and their two children were among those left to confront the painful reality of his death as he was finally laid to rest.

The disagreement over his burial had earlier attracted the intervention of the Oyo State Police Command, with the Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga, reportedly facilitating a peace agreement on November 3 involving the widow, the singer’s father and some associates.

The agreement reportedly paved the way for the burial, following the parties’ resolution to maintain peace and avoid further public exchanges over the matter.

PerSecondNews reports that popular for his energetic praise ministrations, Toluwanisings carved a niche for himself in the gospel music industry with songs such as A Very Big God, Kabiyesi Olorun Ayo and Unreserved Praise, which endeared him to many gospel music lovers.