Dr. Rasheed Olaniyi, a longtime friend of the late ex-Customs officer, Otunba Kunle Akinyele, has expressed deep frustration and grief over the circumstances surrounding Akinyele’s sudden death during his wife’s 60th birthday celebration, revealing that he was stopped from administering life-saving CPR at the critical moment.
In an emotional interview with the Punch, Dr. Olaniyi recounted how Akinyele, his friend of over 40 years, collapsed during the thanksgiving service held at a church in Egbeda, Lagos, just before the birthday reception.
Being a medical doctor, Olaniyi, who was sitting in the audience, rushed to the altar where his friend was, to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but was prevented by bystanders who were unaware of the importance of the procedure.
“People who didn’t understand CPR kept shouting, ‘Don’t injure him!’ They physically pushed me away. I kept explaining that sometimes CPR can involve breaking ribs to save a life. Ribs can heal later. A life cannot be restored once lost,” Olaniyi said, visibly pained.
According to him, the confusion and resistance he encountered at the scene cost precious time. Although Akinyele was eventually rushed to a hospital where Olaniyi joined doctors to resume resuscitation efforts, it was too late.
“If they had let me do it right there in church, maybe we’d be telling a different story today. God knows,” he said.
He recalled that two young men were particularly angry with him and would not let him go near his friend after they thought he was trying to injure him.
He said that after the doctors at the hospital stated that CPR would have been more useful if performed immediately at the church, he turned to the two young men to tell them that that was precisely what he was trying to do before he was pushed away.
“I told them, ‘Look, the doctor here said CPR should have been done immediately at the scene. I tried, but you were pushing me, telling me not to injure him.’
Akinyele reportedly had a brief medical history of manageable hypertension and was once evaluated for mild cardiomyopathy.
Dr. Olaniyi noted that the stress of planning the birthday event might have spiked his blood pressure, triggering a fatal cardiac event.
“He wasn’t severely hypertensive. I regularly monitored his health. But that day, perhaps he didn’t check his BP.”
He recalled that his driver told him he looked cold and uncomfortable, and that he even poured water on his head before and washed his feet before he went back into the church.
Some observers had speculated that the traditional agbada Akinyele wore may have contributed to his discomfort, but Olaniyi dismissed this, stating the late officer had worn similar attire many times without issues.
He pointed to cardiopulmonary failure, often the result of unmanaged hypertension, as the likely cause of death.
“Sudden collapse like that is usually due to a heart attack. Most times, it’s the heart. All this talk about spiritual attacks is extremely rare. Hypertension is the silent killer here,” Olaniyi explained.
Reflecting on their deep friendship, Olaniyi described the late Akinyele as a cheerful, generous, and loyal man who went out of his way to help others.
“We did NYSC together. He was like a brother. He impacted so many lives, including his staff. He would call me just to say, ‘Doctor, I love you.’ That’s the kind of person he was—full of warmth,” he said.
Akinyele’s death has left his wife, family, and friends heartbroken. According to Olaniyi, the widow is still too devastated to speak about the incident.
“This loss is heavy. But we must now focus on taking care of ourselves and honouring his memory,” he concluded.
