You kept telling me you are fine.
On a Monday night in Lagos, Nollywood lost one of its most luminous figures — Alexx Ekubo, dead at 40 after a quiet battle with cancer that few around him were permitted to witness. A man who moved between courtrooms and film sets, between award stages and humanitarian platforms, Ekubo embodied the idea that an artist's reach need not stop at the edge of the screen. His passing leaves both an industry and a continent measuring the shape of a life that gave generously and ended too soon.
- Ekubo had gone silent for months — his last social media post in December 2024 — while friends who reached out were met with reassurances that masked a deepening crisis.
- The announcement of his death sent shockwaves through Nollywood, with colleagues describing their grief in terms of disbelief rather than sorrow alone — this, as one friend put it, 'wasn't the plan.'
- Tributes poured in from co-stars like Funke Akindele, who mourned not only the loss but the distance he had kept, the final 'I'm fine' that now carried unbearable weight.
- Beyond the condolences, the industry now faces the harder work of honoring a legacy that spanned nine major awards, UN recognition, and years of humanitarian service — a body of work that must now speak without its author.
Alexx Ekubo died Monday night in a Lagos hospital, forty years old, after a cancer battle he had largely kept from the world. His last social media post was in December 2024. Friends who reached out in the weeks before his death were told he was fine. Now the silence has a name.
Ekubo came to acting through an unlikely route — law school at the University of Calabar, then a pivot toward entertainment after competing in the Mr Nigeria pageant in 2010. His film debut had come earlier, in 2005, but it was the pageant that seemed to open the door. By 2013 he had won Best Supporting Actor at the Best of Nollywood Awards, and over the following decade he accumulated nine major accolades, including Best Actor of the Year in 2016 and Best Lead Actor in 2022.
His ambitions extended well past the screen. Nigeria's First Lady honored him in 2018 for his contributions to the entertainment industry. In 2020, the United Nations inducted him into its Most Influential People of African Descent program, recognizing both his artistic work and his social development efforts. He received an honorary doctorate, a national excellence award for charity work, and recognition from community organizations that had watched him give as readily as he performed.
When news of his death broke, co-star Funke Akindele wrote that she had tried to see him one last time — that he had kept insisting everything was fine. Fellow actor Godwin Nnadiekwe called him 'a rare soul.' His first director, Lancelot Imasuen, said the loss was 'devastating and unbelievable.' The Nigerian Guild of Editors told the BBC the association was in shock.
At 40, Ekubo's legacy stands complete — the awards, the international recognition, the humanitarian work that had become as defining as any role he ever played. The industry he helped shape is left to reckon with an absence that arrived, like so much grief, without adequate warning.
Alexx Ekubo died Monday night in a Lagos hospital. He was 40 years old, and he had been fighting cancer.
The news arrived like a sudden absence. Ekubo, one of Nollywood's most decorated actors, had withdrawn from public view months earlier—his last social media post dated to December 2024. Friends and colleagues who tried to reach him in recent weeks found him distant, insisting he was fine even as his silence suggested otherwise. Now the silence had a reason.
Born in Rivers State on April 10, 1986, Ekubo came to acting through an unlikely path. He studied law at the University of Calabar, then pivoted toward entertainment after competing in the Mr Nigeria pageant in 2010. His film debut came five years earlier, in 2005, in a production called Sinners in the House, but it was the pageant that seemed to unlock something. By 2013, he had earned Best Supporting Actor at the Best of Nollywood Awards for his role in Weekend Getaway. He appeared in the music video for Yemi Alade's Johnny that same year. The work accumulated. Over his career, he collected nine major awards, including Best Actor of the year in 2016 and Best Lead Actor in 2022.
But Ekubo's reach extended beyond film sets. In 2018, Nigeria's First Lady presented him with a Special Recognition Award for his contributions to the country's entertainment industry. The United Nations took notice in 2020, inducting him into its Most Influential People of African Descent program for those under 40, recognizing his work in both entertainment and social development. A year later, he received an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from an institute in Benin. That same year, he was named Global Social Giving Actor of the year by the Nigerian National Award of Excellence for his charity work. The Sapio Club, a community organization focused on social solutions, also honored him with a Certificate of Excellence.
He worked alongside some of Nollywood's biggest names. In 2020, he starred in Omo Ghetto - The Saga with Funke Akindele, the acclaimed actor and producer. When news of his death broke, Akindele posted a tribute on social media, remembering how she had tried to see him one last time, how he kept telling her everything was fine. "You kept telling me you are fine," she wrote. "May your kind soul rest in peace Alex."
Other colleagues expressed shock that bordered on disbelief. Godwin Nnadiekwe, a friend and fellow actor, wrote that Nollywood had lost "a rare soul" and that "this wasn't the plan." Lancelot Imasuen, the filmmaker who had given Ekubo his first film role, called his death "devastating and unbelievable." The Nigerian Guild of Editors told the BBC that his passing had left the association in shock.
Ekubo's personal life had drawn public attention in 2021 when his engagement to Fancy Acholonu, a Nigerian-American actress and model, ended just three months before their planned wedding. But his professional legacy—the awards, the recognition from international bodies, the humanitarian work that had become as much a part of his identity as his film roles—remained intact.
Now, at 40, that legacy stands complete. The industry he helped build, and the communities he served beyond the camera, are left to reckon with his absence.
Notable Quotes
I tried to reach out to see you one more time but guess you knew best. You kept telling me you are fine.— Funke Akindele, fellow actor and producer
Nollywood has lost a rare soul, and I'm lost for words, because this wasn't the plan.— Godwin Nnadiekwe, colleague and friend
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What made Ekubo different from other Nollywood actors of his generation?
He seemed to understand that the platform mattered beyond entertainment. The awards came, yes, but he was also the kind of person who showed up for social causes, who let the UN recognize him not just as a performer but as someone building something in his community.
The timeline is striking—he disappeared from social media in December, and then this. Did people know he was ill?
Not publicly. That's what makes the tributes so raw. Friends say they tried to reach him, that he kept insisting he was fine. There's a particular loneliness in that—fighting something alone while the world assumes you're simply quiet.
Nine awards over his career. That's substantial. What was the trajectory?
He broke through around 2010, then the recognition accelerated. By 2016 he was Best Actor of the year. International bodies started paying attention—the UN in 2020, honorary degrees, recognition from the First Lady. He had built something real.
The engagement that ended in 2021—did that change how people saw him?
It was tabloid fodder for a moment, but it didn't seem to define him. His work continued. The humanitarian recognition came after that. People remembered him for what he built, not for a broken engagement.
What do his colleagues seem to be grieving most?
The loss of someone who was both talented and generous. Funke Akindele's tribute—"I tried to reach out to see you one more time"—that captures it. They're grieving not just an actor but a person who showed up for people.