Gospel singer, Eric Arubayi, who emerged third runner-up at the first edition of West African Idol singing competition, is dead.

The singer reportedly died on Saturday,  at the Delta State University Teaching Hospital. Arubayi, who was in his mid-30s, reportedly fell sick during the week and was rushed to the hospital. He is survived by his wife of three years, Chinonso and a child. The singer and wife celebrated their third wedding anniversary in December, last year.

Chinonso works as a content producer at Spice TV Channel and is also a make-up blogger.

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Although unconfirmed, many reports suggest that he complained of malaria before ending up at the hospital.

Arubayi’s last social media post was a birthday message to Freke Umoh two weeks ago. Before then, he had wished Timi Dakolo, winner of the inaugural West African Idol competition, and Paul Adefarasin, pastor at House on The Rock Church happy birthdays. The singer is most popular for I Go Make Am, a song released in 2011. Many celebrities have already taken to social media to pay tributes to the singer.