Nigerian actor, content creator and influencer Odira Nwobu has died in South Africa aged 43, a lawyer and the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria have told the BBC.
News of his death has shocked many at home in Nigeria, prompting an outpouring of grief online from fans and colleagues alike for the Nollywood star who was in more than 60 films during his lifetime and was well-known for his comedic persona and babyface.
Nwobu’s family have yet to comment publicly.
It is not yet known what caused the actor’s death on Monday. A coroner’s report is expected soon, lawyer Chukwujiekwu Chukwudi, who was travelling with Nwobu, said.
The actor had been visiting South Africa with a group of social media influencers to promote a Nigerian-owned real estate company, according to the president of the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria Emeka Rollas.
Videos appearing to show the lifeless body of the actor began circulating online on Monday, causing upset.
“[We] were shocked to receive calls from Nigeria to confirm the passing away of the young man, while we were still debating how to break the news to his family,” Mr Chukwudi, who is legal adviser to the Nigerian firm that organised the trip, told the BBC’s Igbo service.
An ambulance was called to Nwobu’s hotel in the town of Benoni, near Johannesburg, after he was discovered alone in his room “gasping for breath”, he said.
Paramedics attempted to keep the actor alive using a defibrillator, but he died at the scene before they could take him to hospital, the lawyer added.
Born in Nigeria’s south-eastern state of Enugu in 1982, Odira Nwobu landed his first professional role – in a film called Joseph the Dreamer – straight out of secondary school.
He had a prolific career but struggled with feeling typecast, he told BBC News Igbo back in 2021, which made him turn to content creation as a way to find more freedom.
Across his TikTok, Instagram and YouTube accounts he amassed hundreds of thousands of followers.
In July, Nwobu survived a road accident which at the time led many people to wrongly speculate that he had died.
The actor was not married, according to local media. Reports do not indicate that he is survived by any children.
Additional reporting by Natasha Booty and Adline Okere
