Veteran Nigerian actor Olu Jacobs has been laid to rest in Lagos following a funeral service held on Friday, October 2, 2026.
The funeral service was held at the Freedom Centre in Lekki, Lagos, where family members, friends, colleagues, dignitaries and prominent figures in the Nigerian film industry gathered to honour the late screen icon.
Jacobs died in September at the age of 82 after a career spanning several decades, during which he became one of Nigeria’s most respected and celebrated actors.
Among the dignitaries who attended the funeral were Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, and former Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun.
Several Nollywood stars also attended the ceremony, including Shaffy Bello, Keppy Ekpeyong, Stan Nze, Morayo Afolabi-Brown, Ireti Doyle, Lala Akindoju, Kate Henshaw, OC Ukeje, Patrick Doyle, Stephanie Okereke and Ernest Obi.
The funeral came days after a service of songs and night of tributes were held on Wednesday in honour of Jacobs and his contributions to the Nigerian entertainment industry.
Born in 1942 to parents from Egba Alake, Jacobs spent his early years in Kano, where he attended Holy Trinity School.
His interest in acting developed after he watched a performance by Hubert Ogunde’s concert party at the Colonial Hotel in Kano.
He later moved to England, where he trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Jacobs began his professional stage career in the 1970s. In 1972, he played The Boy in A Taste of Honey at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
He subsequently featured in several British television productions, including The Goodies, Till Death Us Do Part and Barlow at Large.
In 1978, he portrayed President Mageeba in Michael Codron’s presentation of Sir Tom Stoppard’s Night and Day.
After returning to Nigeria in 1990, Jacobs featured in the NTA detective series The Third Eye before becoming a major figure in the country’s emerging Nollywood industry.
He went on to appear in hundreds of films and established himself as one of the most acclaimed actors in Nigerian cinema.
His contributions to the industry earned him several honours, including the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Africa International Film Festival, the Icon Award from the Audio-Visual Rights Society of Nigeria in 2022, and the Industry Merit Award at the 2023 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards.
Jacobs’ burial marks the final stage of ceremonies held to honour a career that spanned more than five decades and left a lasting mark on Nigerian theatre, television and film. For more updates, follow us on X.
