Veteran Nigerian Juju and Highlife musician Iyun Janet Ajilore, popularly known as Saint Janet, complained of chest pain and experienced difficulty breathing shortly before her death, her children have disclosed.
The family members made the revelation in a recent interview with Alore TV, published on YouTube on Tuesday, while recounting the singer’s final hours and describing her as someone who had shown no obvious signs of illness before the sudden deterioration in her condition.
According to her daughter, Omowunmi, Saint Janet had performed at a show in Sango, Ogun State, the night before her death. She said the singer completed the performance successfully and even received applause from the audience before returning home.
“She performed the previous night. People even celebrated her with applause. We did not suspect anything. After the show, we came home and slept. The show was overnight,” she said.
Omowunmi said her mother appeared well enough the following day to go to the market to buy foodstuff. She reportedly returned home at about 6pm and insisted on preparing a meal herself.
The daughter said it was after Saint Janet finished cooking that she noticed a sudden change in her condition.
“After she finished cooking, she checked around the house to see if there was anything else for her to do. I later noticed she was holding her chest. She said she felt like something wanted to drop off her chest. Her breathing was no longer regular,” Omowunmi said.
As her condition worsened, the singer reportedly asked to be taken to a hospital.
“It was my uncle and my three other siblings that took her to the hospital. They said when they got to the hospital, it was not up to 10 minutes that she was admitted and was given oxygen,” she added.
Her son, Orinayo, said the singer received medical attention soon after arriving at the hospital but later lost her pulse.
“I was told that she was having difficulty in breathing. We took her to the hospital, and she was being attended to immediately. It was when they were looking for pulse that she gave up,” he said.
Another daughter, Fola, said she was not present when her mother was taken to the hospital and only arrived to receive the devastating news that she had died.
“She complained of chest pain. It is my sister that can explain better. She was not sick. They said she went to the market to buy foodstuff. I also saw the soup she was preparing. They came to call me that she was dead,” she said.
Fola remembered her mother not only as a celebrated musician but also as a caring parent who paid close attention to the welfare of those around her.
“She was a good mother. She always ensured that people around her eat,” she said.
No apparent sign of illness during final performance
Saint Janet’s manager, who worked with her for several years, also recalled that the singer appeared to be in good health during what would become her final performance.
According to him, she performed at a show in Sango and remained at the venue after her set, interacting with the organiser and members of the audience.
“We went for a show at Sango. After performing, she went back to sit among the audience, and she spoke with the organiser. She sang well and did not show any sign of sickness,” he said.
The manager added that Saint Janet contacted him by phone on the day she died. He said she told him she was preparing soup and planned to call him back.
The accounts from her children and manager suggest that the singer’s apparent decline in health occurred suddenly, coming shortly after she had completed routine activities and only hours after performing before an audience.
Family begins burial preparations
Following her death, the family has constituted a committee to coordinate her burial arrangements.
A nine-day period of prayer and thanksgiving has also commenced as relatives, friends and members of the music community mourn the veteran performer.
Her funeral has been scheduled for August 25 and 26.
Saint Janet’s death was earlier announced by publisher and socialite Otunba Femi Davies in a Facebook post on Sunday. Davies described the singer as a prominent Nigerian Juju and Highlife musician recognised for her vibrant live performances, energetic stage presence and socially unfiltered party tracks.
“St Janet (Iyun Janet Ajilore), a popular Nigerian Juju and Highlife musician known for her vibrant live performances, energetic stage presence and socially unfiltered party tracks, is dead. She died after a brief illness on Saturday,” he wrote.
Saint Janet was widely celebrated within Nigeria’s Juju music scene and built a loyal following through her distinctive musical style and energetic performances. Her death has added to the recent losses recorded in the Nigerian entertainment industry, with tributes expected from colleagues, admirers and fans who followed her career over the years.