Chief Taoridi Faronbi (Baba Alado)

Chief Taoridi Faronbi died on Saturday, 26 September 2026, in Mushin, Lagos State. His family confirmed the news, ending earlier rounds of speculation. No official cause of death has been disclosed by the family or by state authorities. Exact age at death has not been independently confirmed; some reports described him as being in his eighties.

He was buried the same day according to Islamic rites. Among those reported at the funeral were Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon (GOS), Mushin Local Government Chairman Tunbosun Haruna Aruwe, and Oluseyi Jakande, Chairman of the Odi Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area. Aruwe issued a statement describing Faronbi as his father figure, mentor and leader, and speaking of a profound sense of loss for the family and the community. Mourning was also noted among NURTW colleagues and market stakeholders.

Chief Taoridi Faronbi, also rendered in some reports as Taoreed Farounbi, was deeply rooted in Mushin, Lagos State, particularly the Papa Ajao area associated with the Alagbeji Royal Family. Public sources have not published a verified date of birth. Family and local accounts place him as a long standing member of that lineage. In 2015, after the death of the previous head, he was selected through traditional consultation among the constituent families as Olori Ebi of the Alagbeji Royal Family.

Though reports note that he was not highly educated himself, he placed strong emphasis on the schooling of his children, some of whom lived and studied in the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa. He later relocated his base to Isheri Osun while retaining close ties to Mushin. Those early roots in Papa Ajao and the Alagbeji family structure framed the traditional authority he carried for the rest of his public life.

Faronbi's main business was land development, an occupation that in Lagos often ties a person into local politics, chieftaincy and community mediation. Alongside that work he held several traditional and civic titles: Akinrogun of Isolo Kingdom, Babaloja of Aswani Market, and Baba Oba of Itori Land. He was a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and was widely described as a grassroots mobiliser whose reach extended across Mushin and surrounding areas.

He was also regarded as a heavyweight within the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the Mushin axis, linking his name to the powerful Lagos transport union world. Musicians including K1 de Ultimate, Pasuma and Osupa praised him in their songs, a mark of popular recognition in Yoruba entertainment circles.

His standing was not without conflict. In 2011 the State Security Service arrested him at Isheri Osun and reportedly recovered pump action guns and ammunition, linking the operation to concerns about factional clashes around elections. In 2016 he denied involvement in gang violence in Mushin. In March 2020 a land dispute at the Whitesand community left two men dead, Debo Olohunyo and Chibuzor Daniel. Faronbi was named in connection with the incident, and the Federal Government filed terrorism and related charges against him and others. Proceedings were delayed. In 2021 police also arrested suspected armed men who allegedly invaded his Isheri Osun residence. These chapters made him a polarising figure in Lagos local politics even as supporters continued to see him as a community patron.

Faronbi was a Muslim and was buried according to Islamic rites on the day of his death. Public reporting has not published a full account of his marriage, though tributes and community notices refer to children and grandchildren. Family members described him as a pillar of the Alagbeji lineage. He was known to keep relationships across different strata of Mushin society, from market traders and transport workers to elected officials.

For years his health was the subject of recurring rumours. In April 2024 he appeared in a video to dismiss claims that he had died, declaring himself alive and active. That episode underlines how closely his name was watched in local political and social media circles long before the confirmed announcement of September 2026.

Baba Alado's name remains tied to the power dynamics of Mushin, Isolo and Isheri Osun: land dealing, market leadership, traditional titles, APC grassroots politics and the Lagos transport union network. Admirers remember a mentor and mobiliser whose counsel shaped younger political figures. Critics point to the legal controversies and the violence that surrounded some of the land and factional disputes linked to his name.

Both strands belong to the same public record. What is clear is that for decades his presence was felt well beyond Papa Ajao, and that the tributes from elected officials, union figures and market leaders after his death reflected a stature built over a long career at the centre of Lagos grassroots life.