Asiwaju, the founder of Asiwaju Royal Furniture in Ojo, Lagos, died at a hotel in Lagos after taking a poisonous substance suspected to be Sniper and was met lifeless in his hotel room around 12am on January 13, 2019.
It was learnt that the father of one had checked into the hotel in the evening of the previous day. Shortly before he committed suicide, he had expressed his intention via his Twitter handle, Asiwaju_limited, to end his life.
“Goodbye I’ll die soon. (I) am gone,” he tweeted at 7.35pm on Saturday, January 12.
Asiwaju was prominent on the social media platform with about 24,700 followers.
The post was the last of several tweets the deceased broadcast last Saturday, between 5.52pm and 7.35pm, in response to the allegations.
Last week, a Twitter user, @thatgoddess, had called out Asiwaju, noting that she had information about how he raped a woman inside his car. She, however, said facts about the allegation were still sketchy.
Later on, she posted a chat history between her and an unnamed woman, who claimed to have been raped by the young businessman sometime in May 2017.
In the chat history, the woman alleged that Asiwaju lured her into a hotel in Festac and forcefully slept with her.
The woman’s chat read in part, “I don’t want anyone linking me to this. He raped me. His full name is Michael Asiwaju. He owns a furniture company. He’s also known as Mike Cash. He is mostly in Festac. He tried to lure me with money and gifts. He was asking me out and I refused. I was just fine being friends with him because he was a controlling person.
“He said I’m his girlfriend and I just laughed about it cos (because) I never agreed to be his girlfriend. He always wanted me to come see him but I always refused. Then, he accused me of sleeping around with men. I ignored him and then he apologised. So he called me and said I should come hang out with him and his friends at the beach.
“So I thought it was okay to go see him since it was an open place and his friends were gonna (going) be there. So when it was time to leave the beach, he was supposed to drop me off at Lekki Phase I; then I’d get Uber to take me to my house. He also had to drop one of his friends at his hotel. So we were all in the car and then his friend dropped midway.
“Mike said we had to go to his friend’s hotel to wait for him. I didn’t even understand what was going on but I didn’t mind cos (because) we were not alone. His cousin was there too.”
The accuser stated that when they arrived at the hotel, she waited at the lobby instead of checking into a room with Asiwaju. She explained that his cousin drove out in Asiwaju’s car and promised to come back soon.
She continued, “Mike kept telling me to go chill in the room instead of waiting at the lobby. He kept assuring me that I’d be okay. So I went to the room; (the) biggest mistake of my life. I really trusted that nigga.
“I was alone for a while, then he came in and locked the door. I started to panic. He started touching me and all that. I told him I wasn’t in the mood. So he said I was his girlfriend and he would have sex with me whether I was in the mood or not. I started to fight him and he became aggressive.”
But while replying to the allegations last Saturday on his Twitter page, @Asiwaju_limited, the late businessman said the women accusing him of rape were actually his girlfriends who he met on social media platforms.
He posted pictures of two of the purported girlfriends, claiming that they had fun together sometime in 2017 at a club, where he spent N500,000.
Asiwaju alleged that his former business partner, one Blessing, was behind the blackmail.
He wrote, “I (am) here, I’ll need to say my own side of the story. I know my former business partner sponsored this blackmail to destroy me cos (because) she’s contesting on the platform of All Progressives Congress.
“You all claimed I raped you? We met on the social media, I took you to a club, I spent N500,000 popping Champaign cos (because) of you and we had sex when am (sic) high and you call it rape? In 2017, you didn’t report to the police. In 2018, you didn’t report to the police. In 2019, you decided to blackmail me.
“This two people (sic) and Blessing should be held responsible if anything happens to me. You came to visit me cos (because) you know I have money. We went to a club; I bought drinks worth half a million naira; we had sex inside my car you claimed I raped you just to tarnish my image.
“We discussed sex before you came; all this happened in 2017. None of you reported me to the police. In 2019 cos(because I) am supporting PDP and my bestie is contesting under APC, she sponsored this thread to destroy me.”
Asiwaju stated further that the saga claimed the life of his ailing mother after she read the post online, adding that the blackmail had destroyed his family.
He wrote further, “This story made me lose my mum. Even when I called, I pleaded with these people to take down the post; that my mother just had (a) heart surgery. Imagine if I wanna pay back but I won’t cos I won’t be available.
“My advice for Nigeria girls; when you meet a guy, you like him cos he is rich; you talk sex before meeting him; don’t call it rape when he sleeps with you.
“What will you gain from this blackmail? Imagine if I decided to come after you and your family? But I won’t. Now that you have blackmailed and destroyed me, wetin u gain (What did you gain)? My mother is gone cos of this; I can be gone too cos right now I’m not myself anymore.
“If you all want me to expose you, I still have your fucking nudes on my phone. Did I force you to send me nudes? Do you really wanna (want to) get exposed?”
Enraged Asiwaju subsequently posted a nude picture of one of the girlfriends purportedly sent to him. He also uploaded an 11-second video clip, showing a faceless naked woman caressing him erotically.
He continued, “You sent me this (a picture exposing breast and private parts) and we clubbed together; got high and you called me a rapist just to tarnish my image.
“Someone DM this (another nude picture) to me on Twitter; why do you people want us to expose ourselves? Plenty big gals (girls) on this platform send me nudes that they want me. When I sleep with them and stop talking to them, they blackmail me.
“I don’t care anymore. My mother is dead. I’ll expose all of you. Why will you destroy me when I told you my mother just had (a) heart surgery? Now she’s gone; everyone is crying cos of your stupidity. Are you happy now?
“You claimed I raped you. Bring police report. You feel blackmail will destroy me. Today might be the last time I tweet or breathe. Before you blackmail someone, think about their mental health. Are you happy now for destroying Asiwaju? Are you really happy Blessing?”
Further showing signs of being suicidal, Asiwaju, a single father, said his son would not live a regrettable life as he had made enough money for him to live on when he (Asiwaju) was no longer alive.
“My mother is gone. What am I doing here? Let’s get dirty on social media; stop calling me again to stop posting. Asiwaju raped you; tell Nigerians what led us to sex. Don’t sugarcoat things to spoil my image.
“I met her on Twitter. She sucked my ass; she called me the richest guy she had ever met in her life and she’s among the people blackmailing me on Twitter. Imagine if I post her real face online. Goodbye I’ll die soon. (I) am gone,” he ended the tweets at 7.35pm.
While some commenters were curious to know the suicidal man’s location and how he fared afterwards, others cracked jokes about his woes. One of them asked for his original iPhone charger before he would execute his suicide plan, while another begged for N100,000.
Four days after the controversy played out, a police source told City Round that Asiwaju had actually killed himself at a hotel in Festac.
Although the time he arrived at the hotel could not be ascertained, it was gathered that his corpse was found in the room around 12am last Sunday.
The source said, “He checked into the hotel with another name entirely. He wrote his name as Prince Moses. For now, no one knew why he used another name. It was later discovered that his face was the same as that of a young businessman prominent on Twitter. The suicide might not be unconnected with rape allegations against him in the social media.”
When our correspondent visited the hotel on Thursday around 3pm, he met with a receptionist who identified himself simply as John.
This reporter requested to speak to the manager, but John said she was busy and asked to know the purpose of the visit.
After City Round told John about the suicide, he went back to inform the manager. About 20 minutes later, he returned to our correspondent and said the manager was still very busy.
Newsmen collected the manager’s phone number from John and promised to call her later in the day. But the manager’s line remained unreachable as of press time.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos, CSP Chike Oti, confirmed the suicide. He said two bottles of Sniper was recovered from the incident scene.
He said, “We are investigating a possible case of suicide. We were alerted that a young man died in his hotel room and the Commissioner of Police was informed. He directed that the body should be evacuated and that a team of detectives comprising men from the forensic unit and men from the homicide section should investigate the matter.
“The body was inspected and there was no visible mark of violence on the corpse. Two bottles of Sniper, which we reasonably believed he must have drunk, was recovered from the hotel room. One of the bottles had been emptied while the other one was still unopened. The man checked into the hotel with the name, Prince Moses. Preliminary investigation revealed that the man was the owner of a business known as Asiwaju Royal Furniture.”
