Fresh revelations have emerged following last week’s burial of the late gospel singer Bunmi Akinaanu, popularly known as Omije Ojume, with her estranged husband, Rotimi Adeoye, offering his account of their fractured marriage and family disputes.
In a broadcast on Yeye Kudi Courtroom TV, a recorded phone conversation allegedly featuring Adeoye detailed his marriage to Akinaanu, the reasons behind their separation, and his strained relationship with their children.
The disclosure comes days after what was intended to be a solemn burial descended into public confrontations, sparking widespread debate online.
The couple married in 2006, first at the Surulere Magistrate Court and later in a church ceremony at ECWA Church in Mushin. Their marriage reportedly broke down around 2010 and was legally dissolved between 2017 and 2018, amid challenges including migration issues to the United Kingdom, financial strain, and personal disagreements. Custody of their children became a recurring source of tension.
Adeoye, believed to be based abroad, has since remarried, while Akinaanu returned to Nigeria and raised their children as a single mother until her death in late 2025. Public fundraising campaigns were organised to support her medical care during this period.
Following the burial, Adeoye spoke out through voice notes, videos, and interviews, alleging that infidelity and deceit led to the collapse of their marriage. He said he met Akinaanu in the UK around 2000–2001 and married her after obtaining a work visa. Their first child, Jomiloju, was born in London, and he claimed he cared for her alone after Akinaanu returned to Nigeria in 2010.
“She blocked every access I had to reach you,” Adeoye said, referring to his daughter. He denied abandoning his children, insisting that he regularly sent financial support and paid school fees, but was cut off from them for over eight years. He further alleged that the children were brainwashed against him and lived an “underground lifestyle” in Nigeria. He called for DNA tests and vowed to pursue custody while maintaining that he still loved the children.
Speaking emotionally about Jomiloju, he said, “I bathed that child. We were together until she was seven.” He also alleged that tensions escalated after the birth of their second child, claiming he funded the delivery but was excluded from the birth certificate and later denied access. He said he last saw his son on the child’s first birthday.
Adeoye blamed repeated reconciliation failures on prolonged separations, alleged extramarital relationships, and external religious influences encouraging Akinaanu to remain in Nigeria.
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The controversy intensified after an emotional tribute by Jomiloju at the burial went viral. The teenage girl praised her mother as “the best woman in the world” while accusing her father of neglect. “Ever since my father left me, he did not care. He did not call. Imagine now he’s calling when he knows that someone has left,” she said. She added that an uncle stepped in as a father figure and vowed to honour her mother’s legacy by pursuing a career in gynaecology and supporting her younger brother, William.
Meanwhile, Niyi Peter, representing Akinaanu’s gospel music colleagues, released a video statement claiming that the late singer had requested a widely witnessed burial and that preparations were initially approved by the family. He alleged that singer Alayo Melody financed the coffin, burial space, hall, and over 100 branded T-shirts, but that the family later rejected the plan, involved the police, and opposed the artistes’ participation. Peter also said a woman who stayed with Akinaanu in the hospital was arrested and pressured to surrender her phone.
Akinaanu’s family, however, defended their handling of the burial, expressing shock at the haste with which arrangements were publicly announced online. They said the ceremony was ultimately organised independently using pooled family resources. Adeoye’s relatives also defended their conduct at the graveside, claiming the children had been manipulated and that reconciliation efforts prior to the burial were obstructed.
Since the burial, family members on both sides have continued to air their perspectives publicly, further intensifying the dispute.