Nollywood actor and director Charles Inojie described the death of his colleague, John Okafor, aka Mr Ibu, as a “irreparable loss” to Nigeria’s Nollywood industry.

He highlighted that the late comedy actor is incomparable in Nollywood, and that hiring him alone
was enough to make a movie a hit.

In a recent interview with Channels TV, Inojie stated, “There’s sometimes you lose a person in an industry and you say, well, so or so person would replace him. But Mr Ibu is irreplaceable. Mr Ibu spears with every part of his body.

“He is probably one of the few people in Africa that would sit without saying anything would communicate a million messages with his facial expressions, body language and gestures without verbalising just one word of dramatic dialogue. That doesn’t come cheap. We are going to miss that.

“You have John [Okafor], you have a blockbuster.”

Mr Ibu’s death, one too many – Tinubu’s minister, Musawa mourns

The Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has expressed sadness over the death of renowned Nollywood actor, John Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu.

The minister, in a statement through her Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Nneka Anibeze, described the occurence as “one death, too many”.

Musawa said this was coming just 24 hours after the death of yet another Nollywood actor, Sisi Quadri.

“I’m deeply shocked at too many deaths occurring at the same time. Mr Ibu was a household name who made families happy throughout his acting career.

“His death at this time is very unfortunate and a sad one for us all in the entertainment industry.

“We will sorely miss him. May his soul est in peace,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 62-year-old John Okafor was confirmed dead by Mr Emeka Rollas, National President, Actors Guild of Nigeria on Saturday.

Okafor was said to have suffered a cardiac arrest.