{"id":9886,"date":"2015-09-01T17:35:09","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T16:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buzznigeria.com\/?p=9886"},"modified":"2018-11-06T15:11:26","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T14:11:26","slug":"10-nollywood-stars-you-may-not-believe-are-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buzznigeria.com\/10-nollywood-stars-you-may-not-believe-are-gone\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Nollywood Stars You May Not Believe Are Gone"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nigerian movie industry popularly called Nollywood has come a long way from the days of Living in Bondage<\/em>. With its long history is an abundance of veteran heroes and heroines who have laboured so heavily under the burden of making Nollywood an internationally acclaimed body which will just as well accepted as Hollywood. Some went as far as labouring until their dying days by acting and making donations to better the operations of the industry. These are some of the Nollywood stars whose movies we really enjoyed, but who did not live to see the heights they took the industry to. At their last moments, some of them died as poor as church rats begging the public for money to treats their ailments.<\/p>\n

Name: Ashley Chijioke Nwosu<\/strong><\/h2>\n

State of Origin: Abia<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Age: 57 years (November 1954 – April 2011)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cause of Death: Liver\u00a0Complications<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"2.bp.blogspot.com\"<\/a>
2.bp.blogspot.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ashley Nwosu is one of the Nollywood stars who has been missed greatly in movies. He dominated movie\u00a0scenes for more than twenty years which has seen him feature in more than 150\u00a0movies.<\/p>\n\n

Among his hit movies are Expensive Game<\/em>, Passion of Minds<\/em>, Aristo<\/em>, and Blind Love<\/em>. He passed on at the Yaba Military Hospital, where he had been diagnosed with liver problems. According to the family,\u00a0the actor has been battling with these complications for a protracted period of time before his death. He finally passed away on 21 April 2011. He was survived by his wife and a daughter.<\/p>\n

Name: Sam Loco Efeeimwonkiyeke<\/strong><\/h2>\n

State of Origin: Edo (Benin)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Age: 65 years (December 1945 – August 2011)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cause of Death: Suspected Asthma<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"dailygossip.ng\"<\/a>
dailygossip.ng<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sam Loco Efe is one of the most talented Nollywood actors and\u00a0has for many years distinguished himself as a rare talent for both television and stage drama. Contrary to reports that he was on location\u00a0when he passed on,\u00a0the Enugu-born thespian\u00a0was actually editing a yet-to-be-titled movie, produced by Bayelsa State-born Favour Ogosi\u00a0in Owerri, Imo State. Although it is generally unclear what the cause of his death was (as no autopsy has been released till date), it is attributed to an asthmatic attack as\u00a0canisters of\u00a0Ventolin inhalers were found beside him in the hotel room where he lodged.\u00a0Sam Loco Efe, who acted in over 200 movies was respected for his theatrical antics and his ability to introduce humour even in the most mundane situations.<\/p>\n\n

Name: Geraldine Ekeocha\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

State of Origin:\u00a0Imo<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Age:\u00a056 years (1955\u00a0– 2011)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cause of Death: Cancer of the Liver<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"naijagists.com\"<\/a>
naijagists.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Nollywood was still morning the death of Sam ‘Locomotive’ Efe, death struck again. This time it went for a\u00a0female in the person of Geraldine Ekeocha. Nollywood was shocked\u00a0on the\u00a04th of September when her death was announced. It was said that she died of cancer of the liver at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku Ozalla, Enugu, leaving behind\u00a07 children, 6 girls and 1 boy. A\u00a0superstar in her own rights and a decent one at that, she was not one to\u00a0court controversy in all the years she was a public figure. As a great actress worthy of honour, Geraldine is on the Facebook of Honor of Nollywood greats created by\u00a0Adeola Wellington of the School of International Trade & Economics and\u00a0Rebecca Paris-Widget\u00a0(HSU HH). She featured in more than 100 movies including The Plain Truth<\/em>, Heavy Storm<\/em>, After My Heart<\/em>, 7 Graves,<\/em>\u00a0etc.<\/p>\n\n

Name: David Ihesie\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

State of Origin:\u00a0Delta<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Age:\u00a073 years (1939 – 2012)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cause of Death:\u00a0Arthritis\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"nollywoodone.com\"<\/a>
nollywoodone.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Nigeria movie industry started the year 2012 on a very sad note as it seemed the spirit of death was not done with the industry yet. Veteran actor, David Ihesie was the victim this time as he passed on in his Enugu home after a long battle with arthritis. the sad event which happened on the 19th of January 2012, was the latest in the list of deaths that was becoming a regular occurrence in the motion pictures industry.<\/p>\n

Name:\u00a0Pete Eneh<\/strong><\/h2>\n

State of Origin: Enugu (Udi)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Age:\u00a0Unknown<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cause of Death: Leg Amputation\u00a0(November 2012)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"africanmoviesnews.com\"<\/a>
africanmoviesnews.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sad thing about the death of Pete Eneh is that is was as a result of improper medical attention. The veteran thespian was hospitalized, months before his death at the Park Lane Hospital, Enugu.<\/p>\n\n

On the advice of doctors, his leg had to be amputated to\u00a0prevent the spread of the\u00a0infection to other parts of his body and to save his life. But the latter was never the case as he died a month later at the same hospital. This prompted the\u00a0Fiberesima Ibinabo-led Actors Guild Of Nigeria (AGN)\u00a0to\u00a0announce that actors\u2019 health scheme would be birthed to cater for those who can’t afford medical care.\u00a0Pete Eneh featured in several interesting Nollywood blockbuster movies which include Lonely Life<\/em>,\u00a0Divided Kingdom<\/em>,\u00a0Price of Ignorance<\/em>,\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em>, By His Grace<\/em>, Naomi<\/em>, Not your Wealth<\/em>, among others.<\/p>\n

Name:\u00a0Enebeli Elebuwa<\/strong><\/h2>\n

State of Origin:\u00a0Delta<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Age: 65 years (February 1947 – December 2012)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cause of Death: Diabetes Induced Stroke<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"africanmoviesnews.com\"<\/a>
africanmoviesnews.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Enebeli Elebuwa was the next in the deaths that occurred in Nollywood within a short period. Andrew, as he was popularly called, finally “checked out” of this life on Wednesday, 5 December 2012. He suffered a major stroke and was flown to India\u00a0for medical treatments in June 2012. He, however, couldn’t make it through it and died in the\u00a0hospital at the age of 65. He\u00a0was laid to rest at Victoria Court Cemetery, Ajah, Lagos. Popular for his acts as a ‘big man’ in movies, of which he has featured in over a hundred, few of them include Royal War<\/em>,\u00a0Bent Arrows<\/em>,\u00a0Heart of a Fighter<\/em>,\u00a0Against my Blood<\/em>,\u00a0A Can of Worms<\/em>,\u00a0Abuja Top Ladies<\/em>, Abuja Connection<\/em>,\u00a0A Prize to Pay<\/em>,\u00a0City of Kings<\/em>,\u00a0Last Dance<\/em>, etc.<\/p>\n\n

Name:\u00a0Justus Esiri<\/strong><\/h2>\n

State of Origin: Delta\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Age: 70 years (November 1942 –\u00a0February 2013)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cause of Death: Diabetes<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"2.bp.blogspot.com\"<\/a>
2.bp.blogspot.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Nigerian entertainment industry\u00a0was hit by another tragedy when the death of award-winning actor,\u00a0Justus Esiri was announced. Esiri, aged 70, died in hospital in Lagos on February 19, 2013, from complications of diabetes. Before his death, he was an Officer\u00a0of the Order of Niger (OON)\u00a0and\u00a0one of the strong men of the African film industry.\u00a0He rose to prominence following his role in the popular TV series, Village Headmaster and contributed a great deal to the growth of Nollywood, as it is known today. He featured in many movies such as\u00a0Wasted Years<\/em>, Forever<\/em>,\u00a0The Price<\/em>,\u00a0Six Demons<\/em>,\u00a0Corridors of Power<\/em>,\u00a0Last Night<\/em>, The Tyrant<\/em>,\u00a0Assassin Practice<\/em>,\u00a0Twin Sword<\/em>,\u00a0Keep my Will<\/em>, etc.<\/p>\n\n

Name:\u00a0Amaka Igwe<\/strong><\/h2>\n

State of Origin: Enugu (Udi)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Age: 51 years (January 1963 –\u00a0April 2014)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cause of Death:\u00a0Asthma\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"amakaigwe.ng\"<\/a>
amakaigwe.ng<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Amaka Igwe was an accomplished writer, producer, director, entrepreneur, and teacher. She hit national limelight as the writer and producer of award-winning TV soap Checkmate<\/em>\u00a0and its offshoot Fuji House of Commotion<\/em>. Until her death, Amaka was one of Nollywood\u2019s remarkable movie directors and one of the few contemporary movie makers with their films on celluloid. Her Nollywood projects include Rattlesnake<\/em> and Violated<\/em>,\u00a0To Live Again<\/em>,\u00a0Full Circle<\/em>, etc.\u00a0She was\u00a0awarded the National Order of “MFR” (Member of The Federal Republic of Nigeria) in 2011 in recognition of her contribution to Nollywood and the country at large by the then President Goodluck Jonathan.<\/p>\n

Name:\u00a0Clem Onyeka\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

State of Origin: Imo<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Age: 37 years (1977 –\u00a02014)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cause of Death:\u00a0Stray Bullets\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"nairaland.com\"<\/a>
nairaland.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clems Onyeka was killed by a stray bullet in a gunfire between the Nigeria\u00a0Police and armed robbers in Asaba, Delta state. The robbers,\u00a0according to sources, trailed a bullion van from the Benin\/Asaba Expressway through Summit Road before attacking it at\u00a0DBS\u00a0Road\u00a0by U & I Foundation, but they were engaged by the police in a shootout during which\u00a0Onyeka was caught in between while driving to a movie location with a colleague. He died while his career was beginning to pay off, leaving a mother, a wife, and three children to mourn his demise.<\/p>\n

See Also: 10 Nollywood Actresses Who Are Missing In Action.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Name:\u00a0Muna Obiekwe\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

State of Origin:\u00a0Anambra<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Age:\u00a036 years (1978 – 2015)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cause of Death: Kidney Disease\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"360nobs.com\"<\/a>
Muna (left) on set – 360nobs.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The news of the death of Muna Obiekwe was a bombshell to Nollywood stars and the entire Nigerian movie watchers because of some reasons. The\u00a0Enugu-based Nollywood actor, who starred in countless movies, died after a long\u00a0battle with a\u00a0renal related ailment, which he kept secret, even when he could not afford the treatment anymore. He was very secretive about it.<\/p>\n\n

According to his doctor, he had been battling the kidney disease for about 6 years. Muna was so private that even his close family members and friends did not know about his ailment\u00a0and it was later known that he was married with two kids. He had featured in over 200 movies\u00a0including The Phobia<\/em>, Scarlet Woman<\/em>, Not Man Enough<\/em>, He Lives In Me<\/em>,\u00a0Golden Jewels<\/em>, Destiny Call<\/em> and many more.<\/p>\n

Name:<\/strong>\u00a0Peter Bunor<\/strong><\/h2>\n

State of Origin: Delta<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Age: 60 years (1955 – 2015)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cause of Death: Stroke<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"cinetion.com\"<\/a>
cinetion.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the early hours of Friday, May 1, 2015, Peter Bunor jnr., son of veteran actor, Peter Bunor announced the death of his father with the message below on Facebook:<\/p>\n

“In the early hours of today, my father, friend, teacher, confidant passed on.” he wrote<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although there was no other detail about the cause of the sad event, he said it was due to complications arising from the stroke he suffered five years ago. The veteran thespian who was a powerful force in the screens in the 80’s and 90’s disappeared from the scenes after he was hit with stroke and complained in 2013 that his colleagues in the industry had abandoned him – an accusation which seems to be recurring with every ailing actor\/actress under the AGN.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nigerian movie industry popularly called Nollywood has come a long way from the days of Living in Bondage. With its long history is an abundance of veteran heroes and heroines who have laboured so heavily under the burden of making Nollywood an internationally acclaimed body which will just as well accepted as Hollywood. Some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":10077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[331,77],"yoast_head":"\n10 Nollywood Stars You May Not Believe Are Gone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Nigerian movie industry has seen many of its talented actors and actresses fall to the cold hands of death never to be seen again unlike their scripted deaths in films. Here are 10 of such Nollywood stars whose names and pictures will remind you of the good times they entertained movie watchers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/buzznigeria.com\/10-nollywood-stars-you-may-not-believe-are-gone\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nwadinobi Ugochukwu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buzznigeria.com\/10-nollywood-stars-you-may-not-believe-are-gone\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buzznigeria.com\/10-nollywood-stars-you-may-not-believe-are-gone\/\",\"name\":\"10 Nollywood Stars You May Not Believe Are Gone\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buzznigeria.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-09-01T16:35:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-06T14:11:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buzznigeria.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34cc6a2361848f355633c7e7f8a49fda\"},\"description\":\"The Nigerian movie industry has seen many of its talented actors and actresses fall to the cold hands of death never to be seen again unlike their scripted deaths in films. 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