Death Rumours:Veteran Nollywood Actor Olu Jacobs is Alive Says Family

By:Olufemi Orunsola 

Contrary to a false information, speculations and rumours that filtered into circulation on social media earlier today, Open Television Naija reports that Nollywood actorOlu Jacobs is alive.

The family of the veteran actor confirmed this amid the waves of social media speculations and rumours of his death spread by some bloggers. 

The first son of the acting legend, Soji, had openly told the media that his octogenarian father is not dead as trumpeted online.

In a video shared on X Twitter by Diwura @ De_Catalyste, his barber was seen informing the hale but frail actor about the death rumour, saying "Dad, they say you died?", to which the octogenarian thespian, who sat calmly for his greyed beards to be shaved repeatedly responded, "Na lie....na lie".

Open Television Naija recalls that this is not the first time the veteran actor will be rumoured dead since November 2021 when his actress wife, Joke Silva, opened up on the health struggles of her husband. The death rumour has made the family of the octogenarian actor to debunk the false death rumours by posting photos and videos of their patriarch to discredit the wild rumours.

Open Television Naija also recalls that in 2021, Joke Silva, the 62-year-old respected actress and longtime wife of Jacobs had revealed that her husband has been battling with Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) for a couple of years, hence, his absence from movie screens.

“He is dealing with issues and it has been going on for a couple of years. It is known as dementia with Lewy Body. It is a degenerative disease that affects the brain and it is almost like a Parkinson’s type of disease, it affects the brain so you don’t see the shaking. It affects the person,” she had said in a Channels Television interview.

“It’s been hard on him because he doesn’t understand what is going on and also on family members as well. We have gone through it over the past couple of years and we thank God.

“We have gone through some times and situations recently that I wish I had the old you here so I don’t battle these times on my own but we are grateful for the moment of clarity. I miss the times we worked together,” she added.

Pa Olu Jacob eventually won a lifetime achievement award at the Africa International Film Festival Awards in Lagos later in the year 2021.

In recent times, the octogenarian veteran actor has been off the production sets but he has been seen at selected social functions, aided by his loving wife while fans continue to hope for his recovery.

Open Television Naija observes that following the latest rumours about the death of the actor on Sunday, an RIP trend has suddenly surfaced on the popular social media platform X Twitter.

This baseless death rumour of Pa Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs who was born on July 11, 1942 is coming barely 11 days before the octogenarian actor celebrates his 82nd birthday.

Watch the Rumour-dispelling Video Here