By Ghazali Ibrahim
Veteran Nollywood actor Olu Jacobs has been laid to rest in Lagos following a funeral service attended by family members, colleagues, friends and dignitaries from the entertainment industry and beyond.
Jacobs was buried on Friday, October 2, 2026, after a funeral service at This Present House, Freedom Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos. The private interment followed the service.
His widow, veteran actress Joke Silva, and their sons, Olusoji and Olugbenga Jacobs, were present at the ceremony as mourners gathered to pay their final respects to the screen icon.
Among the dignitaries at the funeral were Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, Lagos State First Lady Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, former Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, and former Ekiti State First Lady Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi.
Several Nollywood figures also attended the funeral, including Kate Henshaw, Ireti Doyle, Shaffy Bello, Lala Akindoju, OC Ukeje, Stephanie Okereke, Patrick Doyle and Ernest Obi.
Entertainment entrepreneur and singer Dare Art Alade also honoured Jacobs at the service with a performance of Pray for Me, a song that featured the late actor and his wife, Joke Silva. Jacobs’ son, Olugbenga, presented his father’s biography during the proceedings.
The funeral came two days after a Night of Tributes and Service of Songs held at Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos Island, where colleagues, friends and admirers celebrated Jacobs’ life and decades-long contribution to the arts.
Jacobs, whose full name was Oludotun Baiyewun Jacobs, died on September 16, 2026, at the age of 84.
He built a career spanning more than five decades across theatre, television and film. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he worked in British theatre and television before returning to Nigeria, where he became one of the country’s most recognised acting figures.
He later featured in hundreds of Nigerian films and received several honours, including the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Africa International Film Festival in 2021, an 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 and Silva also co-founded the Lufodo Group and Lufodo Academy of Performing Arts, contributing to film production, distribution and training in the performing arts.
Friday’s ceremony marked the final public farewell to one of Nigeria’s veteran actors, bringing to a close the funeral programme organised by his family following his death.
