Despite the overwhelming success recorded by the entertainment industry in Nigeria in 2022, the country lost some of its stars as well. Some entertainers we admired on our screens passed away within the year.
Here are five of those actors who left us this year:
Ada Ameh
On Sunday, July 17, 2022, popular Nollywood comedy actress, Ada Ameh, was pronounced dead after collapsing and taken to a hospital in Delta State. Just hours before she passed away, the actress uploaded a video to her official Instagram profile showing her eating with her family at 12:53pm on Sunday.
According to reports, the well-known actress passed out and was taken to a hospital run by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Warri where she was declared dead.
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Following the death of her only child in 2020, the actress experienced a mental breakdown. She posted on social media about her mental health struggle which was slowly killing her.
Lari Williams
Nollywood actor, Lari Williams, passed away on February 28, 2022, at the age of 81, following a protracted illness. Williams served as the Actors Guild of Nigeria’s first president. His debut Nollywood film is “Village Headmaster”, the first Nigerian soap opera to air on NTA. He then appeared in “The Witch Doctor”, the first home video ever to be filmed in Nigeria. Before his death, he was a theatre arts professor at the University of Lagos (Unilag) and University of Calabar (Unical).
Rico Swavey
In October, 2022, Patrick Fakoya, formerly Rico Swavey on Big Brother Naija, passed away. Rick Swavey was involved in a car accident that left him hospitalised and critically injured. Although the exact moment of his departure is unknown, another housemate, Alex Asomugha, confirmed it on Twitter.
His managers had asked for prayers and donations before he passed away to support the reality TV star. Friends and former Big Brother Naija housemates, including Tobi Bakre, turned to Twitter to ask for help.
Gbenga Richards
On May 12, 2022, after suffering an unidentified illness, seasoned Nollywood actor, Gbenga Richards, was officially pronounced dead. According to accounts, the once lively actor who was a force to be reckoned with in the 1990s and early 2000s, suffered from a number of ailments and getting funds for his treatment proved difficult. In 1977, Richards made his debut as an actor when he and Hubert Ogunde represented Nigeria at the Second World Black and African Festival of African Culture (FESTAC). In addition, he had prominent roles in a number of big-budget films, including New Jerusalem, Sango, Mirror in the Sun, Betrayal by Love, Fighting Machine, and a lot of others. He primarily appeared in action thriller movies.
Leo Mezie
Nollywood actor, Leonard Chimezie Onyemachi, often known as Leo Mezie, passed away on Saturday, May 14, 2022, at the age of 46 after a battle with kidney disease. It was learned that the actor who underwent a kidney transplant more than four years ago underwent another procedure just months before he passed away but experienced complications. Nollywood actress, Chioma Toplis, confirmed Leo Mezie’s death in an Instagram post.
