Veteran Juju music legend, Ahuja Bello, has passed away, a day after celebrating his 83rd birthday.

PUNCH ONLINE reports that the 1970s music star died in the early hours of Monday, August 25, according to his daughter, Bello Festus Aderemi, who confirmed the news in a Facebook tribute.

“Rest in peace my lovely dad, Alhaji Ahuja Bello. We love you but God loves you more,” she wrote.

His band’s official page, Ahuja Bello and His Golden Eagles Band, also confirmed the death, saying: “Though you are gone, your light continues to shine in our hearts. RIP Ahuja Bello.”

Born Ismaila Dele Bello on August 24, 1942, in Iseyin, Oyo State, Bello was a guitarist, vocalist, and band leader who rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s. He started as an electronic technician before founding the Golden Eagles Band in 1976.

He thrilled fans with albums such as Awa ti Danfo and Ariya ti De. In 1979, he traveled to London to record Ahuja in London, where he reportedly met reggae icon Bob Marley.

Bello’s career was tragically cut short following an accident on July 24, 1982, barely a month before his 40th birthday, though his influence on Juju music endured for decades.