Cynthia Okereke, the ace Nollywood actress, has died, leaving Nigeria’s movie industry and her fans in deep sorrow.
Filmmaker Joseph Okechukwu was the first to break the news of her death via a post on his Instagram page on Wednesday.
Okechukwu said she died on Tuesday night, expressing his shock and sadness over the death of “such an amazing, decent and lovely soul.”
“Rest in peace, Nwanyi oma. I’m shattered beyond words,” he wrote.
“The fact that I was about to pay for your flight ticket to come finish what we started only to hear you went to be with Lord just last night is one of the toughest things I’ve had to deal with in recent times.”
He added: “For the more than 20 years that I’ve known you, you’ve been such an amazing, decent and lovely soul to be around. I never imagined you’d exit so unceremoniously. Words fail me.”
Okereke’s death was confirmed by the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Ene Brown.
Brown told Vanguard that the veteran actress had been suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes for some time now.
“She has been managing herself all this while,” he added.
Meanwhile, social media is awash with posts by Okereke’s colleagues and Nigerians mourning her demise.
Actress Rita Edochie Instagram post reads, “Too bad to hear this. Journey on my great sister till we meet again to path no more.”
Filmmaker Emem Isong described Okereke’s demise as “sad news.”
