In this paper we prove that the moduli spaces $MI_{\scriptstyle {\bb P}^{2n+1}}(k)$ of mathematical instanton bundles on ${\bb P}^{2n+1}_{{\bb C}}$ with quantum number $k$ are singular for $n \geqslant 2$ and $k \geqslant 3$, giving a positive answer to a conjecture made by Ancona and Ottaviani in 1993.