By: Odeh Favour Adiya
Veteran Nigerian actor and elder statesman, Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, popularly known as Olu Jacobs, has died at the age of 84.
The passing of the iconic movie star was announced by his son, Olusoji Jacobs, on his Instagram handle on Wednesday.
Announcing his father’s demise, Olusoji wrote, “It is with gratitude to God for a life well lived and fought, that we announce the passing of our dear husband, father, grandfather and uncle.
The Lion of Lufodo. Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs (MFR)
11/07/1942 – 16/09/2026.
We call on all bloggers and social media influencers to respect our families privacy at this time.”
Olu Jacobs was widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most respected actors and a towering figure who helped lay the foundation for the nation’s theatre, television, and film industries.
For more than five decades, Jacobs built an illustrious career that spanned the stage in Britain, international feature films, and ultimately, becoming one of the most recognizable faces in Nollywood.
Born on July 11, 1942, in Kano, Jacobs had his ancestral roots in the Egba Alake community of Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He spent his early years in Kano, where he developed an interest in acting through school drama, debating activities, and church programmes.
His passion for the performing arts was solidified after he watched a performance by legendary Nigerian theatre practitioner Hubert Ogunde, an experience that inspired him to pursue acting as a profession.
Jacobs later travelled to the United Kingdom, where he trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, gaining a solid foundation in classic theatre and professional stagecraft.
He subsequently worked with several repertoire theatres across Britain and appeared in popular British television productions during the 1970s, including The Goodies, Till Death Us Do Part, The Professionals, The Tomorrow People, and Barlow at Large.
His international film credits also included roles in The Dogs of War (1980), Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985), and Roman Polanski’s Pirates (1986).
After establishing himself abroad, Jacobs returned to Nigeria and became a central figure in the country’s burgeoning entertainment industry, featuring in hundreds of screen productions over the decades.
In Nollywood, he became renowned for portraying regal characters such as kings, chiefs, traditional rulers, and authoritative patriarchs, made memorable by his deep commanding voice and theatrical presence.
Together with contemporaries such as Pete Edochie, he became synonymous with the generation of veteran actors who defined the aesthetic identity of early Nollywood cinema.
Throughout his career, Jacobs earned numerous prestigious recognitions, including winning the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2007.
He was also honoured with the Industry Merit Award at the 2013 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards and received the AMAA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
In 2011, the Federal Government conferred on him the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in recognition of his immense contributions to Nigerian arts and culture.
Jacobs was married to fellow veteran actress Joke Silva, forming a personal and professional partnership that became one of the most prominent unions in the Nigerian entertainment industry.
Together, they founded the Lufodo Group, with interests spanning film production, distribution, and the Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts, which trained generations of new performers.
In his later years, Jacobs largely withdrew from the public spotlight as his health deteriorated. His wife, Joke Silva, had previously disclosed that he was battling dementia with Lewy bodies, a degenerative neurological condition.
Despite repeated false death rumors over the years which the family repeatedly debunked, including as recently as June 2024—the legendary actor lived out his final years surrounded by family and celebrated by colleagues and admirers nationwide.
Olu Jacobs died in the early hours of Wednesday, leaving behind his wife, Joke Silva, his children, grandchildren, extended family, and generations of filmmakers influenced by his life’s work.
