His death came barely 24 hours after another actor, Quadri Oyebamiji, aka Sisi Quadri, passed away in Osun State.
Paying tributes to the late Okafor, the president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, wrote on his Instagram, “Sad day for the Actors Guild of Nigeria. Kate Henshaw lost her mother earlier today, and Mr. Ibu suffered cardiac arrest, according to his 24-year-old manager, Don Nwuzor. I announce with a deep sense of grief that Mr. Ibu did not make it. May his soul rest in peace.”
On her part, an actress, Mercy Johnson-Okojie, wrote, “It is well…rest well, sir.”
Peter, a singer and member of the pop group, P-Square, wrote, “Rest well, Mr. Ibu. We will definitely miss you, brother.”
However, as the actor lay on his hospital bed, members of his family were in a fierce battle, During this period, his family seemed to have been in a fierce battle, as they accused one another of wanting to embezzle the money raised by members of the public.
It was also alleged that the actor was involved in an affair with his adopted daughter, Chioma (Jasmine); though both parties denied the allegations.
Indeed, the actor’s last years have been tumultuous. On different occasions, he claimed to have survived several poison attempts. According to him, three attempts were made on his life but he survived them all.
Actors who have passed on this year include Sisi Quadri and Deji Akinremi, aka Olofa Ina.
In 2019, Mr. Ibu alleged that his kinsmen paid some of his domestic workers to poison him because of his successful career.
In May 2022, the comic actor again alleged that he was poisoned for the third time.
In an interview, Okafor disclosed that he was already “seeing people on the other side,” but God brought him back to life.
He said, “My illness was perpetrated by people who hate me. They did what they did to me. Later, I was taken to the hospital. The doctors are prophets. So, they went into my system, and they told me what was wrong and what they were going to do. I said, ‘Whatever you are going to do, please, do it, let me live because if I die like this, the enemies will laugh’. And then the doctors said, ‘Okay, there’s no problem’.
However, several notable Nollywood figures have posted lighted candles on his behalf to mourn the actor.