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A performing artiste based in Osogbo, Osun State, popularly known by the stage name Tola King, has reportedly died after a brief illness that started during a church concert on Saturday.
In an interview on Sunday, Temitope Awosika, the governor of the Celestial Performing Artists Association of Nigeria in Osun State, confirmed the incident. According to Awosika, Tola King became unexpectedly ill early on Saturday while performing with his fellow artists at a concert hosted by a Celestial church in the Obalende neighborhood of Osogbo.
When Tola King became ill, Awosika said he was contacted and that he received rapid medical attention within the church. From there, he was taken to an unidentified hospital in Osogbo and later transported to another hospital in Ile-Ife at daybreak.
He further said, “Tola King was one of us in the Osun chapter. Saturday morning, I was called around 3 am, but I didn’t pick up the call. Around 5:30 am, I picked up the call. There was a concert at a Celestial Church in Obalende, Osogbo.
“The person that called me is one Evangelist Femi. The deceased and Femi were called to perform at the same time. Tola King performed for a while and dropped the microphone for Femi. After that, Femi said Tola suddenly held him from the back.
“He was immediately attended to as his breathing was at that point becoming heavy. Within 10 minutes, he was rushed to a hospital. From that first hospital, he was referred to another hospital in Ile-Ife. He was promptly attended to in that Ife hospital.
