Family rules out foul play in Moji Olaiya's death

The family of the late Nollywood actress, Moji Olaiya, has released a statement thanking everyone -friends, fans and colleagues -for the show of love and support.

The popular actress was buried on Wednesday morning at the Ebony Vaults, situated inside Ikoyi Cemetery, Lagos, amidst tears and encomiums.

A member of the Moji Olaiya Burial Committee, actor Yomi Fabiyi, also told PREMIUM TIMES that a former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu and a chieftain of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo, contributed to the burial with the latter paying for the parcel of land where the Nollywood actress was buried.

In the statement, which was signed by Moji’s brother, Femi Olaiya, the family urged the general public to dismiss rumours that the deceased was poisoned. They added that it was God’s will for her to depart.

Mr. Olaiya also revealed that a trust fund had been established for his nieces.

The actress, who was one of the children of highlife music icon, Victor Olaiya, died on May 18 in Canada, two months after the birth of her baby. She had her second daughter in March and reports have it that she may have suffered complications as a result of childbirth. Her baby was born premature.

Her two daughters survive the deceased— one aged 20 and the other, delivered in Canada, only two months old.

Read the family’s statement below

The Olaiya Family appreciate the immense outpouring of love and affection the public showed the family since the sudden and untimely death of our beloved Sister, Moji Olaiya, and the huge support we received for her burial. Her friends, fans, colleagues in the movie industry and the general public displayed an uncommon show of support and kindness towards the family in our grieving time.

We are grateful indeed for your condolence messages, visits, gifts and other forms of support, we are indeed very grateful to have such wonderful people. We also want to use this medium to specially thank the Burial committee and all those who were involved in helping to raise funds for the return of Moji’s remains to Nigeria, we are eternally grateful to you for rising above the grief to support the family.

This is also appreciating Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, erstwhile governor of Lagos State for his humane and philanthropic gesture in providing the required funds to transport Moji’s corpse back to Nigeria. Thank you, your Excellency. Indeed, Moji received burial befitting queens because of all your efforts.

We wish to use this opportunity to debunk claims circulating on social media that a friend in Canada poisoned Moji. An autopsy was conducted; the autopsy reports indicated that our dear sister died of a different cause that can be termed natural medical cause. It is not the desire of the family to have anyone implicated in her death having seen the autopsy reports, therefore, we appeal to friends, fans and the general public to accept Moji’s death as an act of God though rather unfortunate.