Rachel Oniga did not die from COVID-19 — Family

According to the family, the veteran actress Rachel Oniga died of heart disease, not COVID-19 complications as reported in some quarters yesterday.

The actress reportedly died Friday night in a hospital in Lagos.

In a statement yesterday by the deceased’s sister, Deaconess Toyin Odusote, Oniga, who passed away at the age of 64, had been battling the ailment for some time now.

The statement read in part: “With a heavy heart and total submission to God, we write to announce the passing of our beloved sister, mother and grandmother, Chief Rachel Tabuno Oniga .

“ She died in a Lagos hospital at the age of 64 , on Friday, July 30, 2021 at about 10 pm.

“ Contrary to diverse reports informing that she died of COVID-19 complications, we write to inform the general public that she died of heart related issue, an ailment she battled for a short period before her demise.

“We accept her sudden transition as God’s design and we see it as a function of a race of life well finished.

“Painful as it may, we accept it in good faith and total submission to her Maker.

“We, therefore, desire to be allowed to mourn her death privately for now, as we do cause with deep sense of respect for her soul and the glorious life she lived. “

Read the statement below: