Bukola Adebayo and Afeez Hanafi
After battling with ovarian cancer for months, Mayowa Ahmed has been confirmed dead at a hospital in South Africa, where she was flown to for treatment.
Mayowa’s cousin, Habeeb Odufuye, broke the news of her death on his Twitter account around 1.23pm on Sunday, saying, “Ahmed has left us in this world.
“On behalf of the entire Ahmed’s family, we say thank you to everyone that was part of #SaveMayowa – RTs, donations. God bless you all. She tried, we tried, but God’s will prevailed. By Allah, in whose hands our lives are, Mayowa Ahmed has left us in this world. We pray that Jannat (paradise) becomes her home,” the tweet read.
One of our correspondents, who called and sent text messages to the telephone line of Mayowa’s brother, Ibrahim Ahmed, to confirm the news, did not get a response.
However, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, in a text message to PUNCH Metro, said the command had been informed about Mayowa’s death by the family’s lawyer.
“The family’s lawyer contacted the command that she passed on in South Africa,” the text message read.
Mayowa’s family, supported by Nollywood actress, Toyin Aimakhu; and the director of Lifestake Foundation, Miss Aramide Kasumu, had launched an online appeal to raise funds for her surgery in an Atlanta-based hospital, United States.
The campaign was said to have raised over N80m and a separate $100,000 for her, but Aimakhu later alleged on social media that the campaign was a scam.
The police, after investigating the allegations from both parties, however, described the controversy as a mere misunderstanding between the parties involved and unfroze the Gofundme account, where the donations were paid into.
She was flown to South Africa for treatment on August 10, 2016.
