After months of undergoing multiple surgeries for an undisclosed ailment, veteran Nollywood actor John Okafor, alias Mr Ibu, died on Saturday.
The president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, confirmed this in an Instagram post.
Mr Ibu, 62, suffered a “cardiac arrest” and “didn’t make it,” Rollas stated.
Last year, the actor underwent a leg amputation surgery due to “constant clotting of the blood in his leg”, a statement released by his family said in December 2023.
His family members, including his wife, son and adopted daughter, had constantly sparred over the disbursement of donations from the public to foot the actor’s medical bills.
On October 18, 2023, the actor sought help to avoid amputation, saying, “I am still lying down in the hospital; the medical doctor of the hospital said the best solution if his idea didn’t work, the best idea is to cut off my leg. Just see me; if they cut off my leg, where will I go to? Where do I go from here?”
His family posted on his Instagram page on October 31 that he had gone through five successful surgeries and was still recovering in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Mr Ibu was known for taking on comic roles in Nollywood and rose to fame in the early 2000s.
