By Brian Okoth
Veteran Nigerian actor John Okafor, popularly known by his stage name Mr Ibu, has died at the age of 62, the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) says.
Mr Ibu died on Saturday at the Evercare Hospital Lekki in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos.
The actor was taken to the intensive care unit in the afternoon, but succumbed to his illness.
According to Emeka Rollas Ejezie, the president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Mr Ibu "suffered cardiac arrest."
'Deep sense of grief'
Rollas, who took to Instagram to confirm Mr Ibu's death on Saturday, said the actor's manager of 24 years, Don Single Nwuzor, broke the news of Mr Ibu's death to him.
"I announce with deep sense of grief that Mr Ibu didn't make it," Rollas said.
One of Mr Ibu's leg was amputated in November 2023 for medical reasons.
In December, his family dismissed reports alleging that the actor's leg was amputated due to diabetes.
Blood clot
The family said that a blood clot in his leg occasioned the amputation, which was recommended by doctors to save his life.
A family statement said that a double surgery was done on Mr Ibu's leg.
"The first amputation didn't completely correct his health predicament. So, the doctors had to go ahead to amputate the same leg further to ensure we didn't lose him," the statement said in mid-December.
"Daddy's cause of sickness is also not diabetes but he's had constant clotting of the blood in his leg (diseased blood vessels) and other health challenges posing risk to his life, therefore the need for the amputation."
'Not fit to fly'
The family added that flying the actor abroad for specialised treatment was impossible at the time because "doctors had tagged him 'not fit to fly'."
"This tag has made it extremely impossible to get him out of the country for advanced treatment as no airline will fly him."
The actor had at least eight surgeries during his ailment, according to his family.
In November, his family urged fans and well-wishers to raise funds for Mr Ibu's treatment, which, they said, had become too expensive.
Dozens of movies
Mr Ibu was born in Nkanu West in Enugu State, southeastern Nigeria on October 17, 1961. He was given the birth name John Ikechukwu Okafor.
He pursued basic education in Enugu State, and later enrolled for an undergraduate course in management.
The actor starred in dozens of movies in his decades-long acting career.
In 2004, he played the lead actor role in the Nigerian comedy film Mr Ibu, which would later become his nickname.
Music
In 2020, he tried his hand at music, releasing two songs called "This Girl" and "Do You Know."
Mr Ibu is survived by a spouse and three children.
On Sunday, Nigeria's Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy Hannatu Musa Musawa termed Mr Ibu's death "very unfortunate and a sad one for us all in the entertainment industry."
Nigerian musician Peter Okoye of the P-Square brothers said on Twitter that he will "definitely miss" Mr Ibu. Actress Ezeh Ngozi termed Mr Ibu's death "very sad."
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