BREAKING: Olu Jacobs, Veteran Nollywood Actor, Dies at 84
Veteran Nigerian actor and film executive, Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, popularly known as Olu Jacobs, has died at the age of 84.
His death was announced by his family on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, with his wife, veteran actress Joke Silva, and their son, Olusoji Jacobs, confirming the development.
The family said Jacobs died on September 16 and described the celebrated actor as the “Lion of Lufodo.”
His death comes after years in which reports of his passing repeatedly circulated on social media and were dismissed by his family and associates. The National Television Authority had also highlighted the repeated false death reports surrounding the actor in a recent report on celebrity death rumours.
Jacobs was widely recognised for his work across stage, television and film. His career included appearances in British television productions before he returned to Nigeria, where he became one of the prominent figures in the country’s theatre and film industry.
He was also known for his long-standing marriage to Joke Silva. The couple met in the early 1980s and married in 1985, later co-founding the Lufodo Group and Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts.
Jacobs celebrated his 84th birthday on July 11, 2026, with Silva describing him in a birthday tribute as “The Lion of Lufodo.”
The actor’s death marks the loss of one of the most recognisable figures in Nigeria’s theatre and film history.
May his soul rest in peace.
