Nigeria’s Nollywood veteran actress, Cynthia Okereke, is dead.
The actress, who had featured in scores of movies, was said to have died Tuesday night. Her demise is coming a year after enduring a traumatic kidnapping experience.
The sad news was disclosed by her fellow colleague in the entertainment industry, Joseph Okechukwu.
Okechukwu, a filmmaker, expressed deep sorrow, revealing that he had intended to pay for Cynthia Okereke’s flight ticket to America to continue their joint project.
However, fate intervened, and she passed away on Tuesday night
“May you rest in peace, dear Nwanyi oma. I am utterly devastated and at a loss for words. The fact that I was on the verge of finalizing your travel arrangements to complete what we had begun, only to learn that you departed this world last night, is one of the most difficult things I have ever had to grapple with recently. I pray that I will be able to recover from this profound shock. Life truly is fleeting. One moment you have it, the next it slips away.
“Throughout the more than 20 years I have known you, you have been an incredible, honorable, and lovely soul to be around. I never could have imagined that you would depart so abruptly and unceremoniously. Words fail me.
“Rest in eternal peace, Cynthia. May your gentle soul find tranquility until we reunite in glory,” he wrote.
Nollywood actors have also expressed their grief over the loss of the late actress, who was renowned for her nurturing roles in epic Nigerian movies.
Recall that Cynthia Okereke and Clemson Cornel were kidnapped last year on their way back from a movie shoot in Ozalla town, Enugu State, precisely on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Monalisa Chinda, who also serves as the Actors Guild of Nigeria’s Director of Communications, broke the news. She disclosed that the actors had been reported missing when their families confirmed that they hadn’t returned from the shoot. Thankfully, they were later released after spending several days in the clutches of the criminals.
