Olu Jacobs, veteran of Nigerian and British screen, dies aged 84

Veteran Nigerian actor Olu Jacobs has died at the age of 84, his family announced on Wednesday. In a statement shared on social media, the family paid tribute to the actor, describing him as “The Lion of Lufodo” and saying his life had been one of service and achievement. Jacobs was one of the most recognisable faces of Nigeria’s film industry, with a career that spanned British television, theatre, international cinema and Nollywood. Born Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs on 11 July 1942, he grew up in Kano in northern Nigeria. Although his family came from the Egba Alake community in present-day Ogun State, his early years in Kano played an important role in shaping his interest in the performing arts. He became interested in acting after attending one of the annual concert performances of Nigerian theatre pioneer Hubert Ogunde at the Colonial Hotel in Kano. Jacobs later travelled to Britain, where he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He went on to work with British theatre companies and appeared in a number of television productions during the 1970s, including The Goodies, Till Death Us Do Part, Barlow at Large and The Professionals. His international film credits included The Dogs of War, Pirates and Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend. He eventually returned to Nigeria and became a major figure in the country's rapidly growing film industry. Over several decades, Jacobs appeared in more than 100 films and became particularly known for playing authoritative and complex characters. His work helped establish a link between Nigeria's traditional theatre scene and the emerging Nollywood industry. Among his major honours was the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2007. He was also recognised with an Industry Merit Award at the 2013 Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. In 2011, he received Nigeria's national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR). Away from acting, Jacobs and his wife, fellow veteran actress Joke Silva, established the Lufodo Group and the Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts. The couple married in 1989 and have children and grandchildren. Jacobs had largely withdrawn from public acting in his later years. In 2021, Silva revealed publicly for the first time that her husband had been living with dementia with Lewy bodies, a degenerative condition affecting the brain. She said at the time that the condition had been affecting him and the family for several years. His death had previously been the subject of false reports on several occasions, including in 2021 and 2024. Those reports were denied at the time. The family said Jacobs is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren.