The Nigerian entertainment industry has been thrown into mourning following the death of Nollywood actor Chijioke “Cjay” Nwokafor.

His colleague, actress Nkechi Blessing, announced his death on Instagram on Wednesday, sharing videos of herself with the late actor.

Blessing did not disclose the cause of his death but said she had cancelled the release of her movie, Egusi Ogbono, in his honour. Cjay featured in the film.

The actress had initially scheduled the movie for release at 5pm on Wednesday but withdrew it after a hospital confirmed the actor’s death.

Blessing said she spoke with Cjay at about 8am on Wednesday, only to receive news of his death a few hours later.

“Cjay Nwoke Oma, so this is really the end? Omo we had plans. I spoke to you at 8 a.m. today and a few hours later you are no more with us.

“Omo please return if possible because I refuse to type otherwise and this is too much for me to handle,” she wrote.

Reacting to the news, actor Charles Born said he had planned to visit Cjay at the hospital.

“Wait what? I was supposed to go see him at the clinic. Is this a joke?” he wrote.

Another actor, Emeka Nwagbaraocha, also expressed disbelief over the actor’s death in a post on X.

“Can’t believe CJ is dead mehn. We just texted a few days back! WTF is going on.

“CJ is such a sweet soul, talking about him in past sense is just,” he wrote.

As of press time, Cjay’s family and colleagues had yet to disclose further details about his death or announce funeral arrangements.

Cjay, who began his acting career in 2021, featured in several Nollywood productions, including Larry Cold, Mum Overnight and A Day to My Wedding.

—By Samuel Omotere