Asake ‘Devastated’ By Death Of Woman After Crowd Crush At UK Concert

Popular Nigerian Afrobeats singer Ahmed Ololade, A.K.A Asake, has said he is devastated and “overwhelmed with grief” after a woman died from a crowd crush that took place outside his canceled concert at the O2 Academy Brixton in London, UK.

A woman identified as Rebecca Ikumelo was among those injured when ticketless fans tried to get into the show at the south London venue on Thursday.

According to metropolitan police, Ikumelo, 33, from Newham, east London, died in hospital on Saturday morning while two other women aged 21 and 23 remain in critical condition.

Aseke, while reacting to the death in a tweet on Saturday, said: ”I am devastated by the news that Rebecca Ikumelo who was in critical condition since Thursday has sadly passed away.

”My sincerest condolences to her loved ones at this time. Let us please keep her family in our prayers. I have spoken to them and will continue to do so.

”I am overwhelmed with grief and could never have imagined anything like this happening.

”My team and I are still awaiting the full debrief back from the Venue management and the Police to determine what exactly led to all the disruption caused and ultimately to Rebecca’s passing.

”If you have any relevant information relating to this please do reach out to the Metropolitan Police.”

Also, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said City Hall is in contact with venues and authorities across the capital to make sure “nothing like this happens again”.

“I am heartbroken by the tragic death of Rebecca Ikumelo who has very sadly died following the awful events on Thursday night in Brixton.

“Rebecca had her whole life ahead of her and on behalf of all Londoners, I would like to extend my condolences to her family, friends and loved ones at this extremely difficult time,” he said.

In a statement released via its official Twitter page, The Metropolitan Police said, “the police investigation into the incident at the 02 Brixton Academy on Thursday, 15 December, continues.

“Sadly, one of the women who was critically injured died at the hospital on the morning of Saturday, 17 December. She is Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, of Newham. Specialist officers are continuing to provide support to her family.

“A post-mortem examination will be held on Sunday, 18 December, at Greenwich Public Mortuary. Two other women – aged 21 and 23 – remain in critical condition.

“In a statement, Rebecca’s family said: “Rebecca was a graduate of nursing. She was an adorable mother of two children who loved working with kids.

“She was well respected in the family for her care, kindness, and love. Her parents call her Tosin (short for Oluwatosin) meaning ‘Lord is Worthy.”

Speaking at the scene on Friday, Chief Superintendent Colin Wingrove of Lambeth and Southwark, said: “I’d like to extend my sympathies to all those who have been affected. Having seen some of the really upsetting images on social media our thoughts are with them.

“An urgent investigation is currently underway led by detectives from our Specialist Crime Command and cordons remain in place as officers continue to work at the scene. This is still a fast-moving and evolving picture and we are working to establish the events that led up to the incident.

“We are also aware of a vast amount of footage on social media and of course, this will be examined as part of the investigation along with footage from officers’ body-worn video cameras.

“We are working incredibly closely with our partners and community members and would like to thank them for their support so far in the investigation. We would also like to thank people for coming forward with information.

“We have set up an online page for the submission of photos and videos. There were around 4,000 potential witnesses present at the time of this incident and we want to urge any members of the public with information to come forward. We need your information as we try to establish what happened as quickly as we can.”

He added: “From the outset, the police investigation into the incident at the Brixton Academy has been painstaking and forensic in its nature, and I can assure Rebecca’s family and friends that this work will continue for as long as necessary.

“We are determined, along with our partners, to do everything we can to establish exactly what happened on Thursday night.

“My thoughts and deepest sympathies remain with Rebecca’s family and all of those affected.”

The Met urged witnesses who are yet to speak with police to call 101 ref 6725/15Dec.

Asake was recently nominated for BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2023 award – for artists breaking through in the UK.

The concert was the third of three sold-out dates at the 4,921-standing capacity venue and concluded a run of his UK dates.