The Nigerian entertainment industry has lost one of its finest live performers, Akinloye Tofowomo, popularly known as Akiin Shuga.
He died on Wednesday, October 30, 2025, in New Brunswick, Canada. He was 50.
His family, in a statement, described him as a “revered music icon, Grandmaster, and custodian of rhythm, culture, and the spirit of performance.”
Born on January 6, 1975, in Ile-Oluji, Ondo State, Akiin Shuga’s life was a story of courage and passion.
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Stricken by polio at the age of five, he rose above his physical limitations to become one of Nigeria’s most celebrated bandleaders and live-music entrepreneurs.
He founded the famous Shuga Band in 1998, starting from Pintos Bar in Ikeja, Lagos.
What began as a small group later grew into a 14-man ensemble of instrumentalists and vocalists that became a fixture at weddings, corporate events, and state occasions.
