Nollywood has been thrown into mourning following the death of actor Chijioke ‘Cjay’ Nwokafor.
His death was announced on Wednesday by his colleague, actress Nkechi Blessing, on Instagram.
Blessing did not disclose the cause of death but said she had postponed the release of her new movie, Egusi Ogbono, in which Cjay featured, in honour of the late actor.
The movie was initially scheduled to premiere at 5pm on Wednesday.
Blessing said she spoke with Cjay around 8am on Wednesday, only to receive news of his death a few hours later.
She expressed shock over the actor’s sudden death, describing the development as difficult to process.
‘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.
Colleagues have since expressed shock over his death.
Actor Charles Born said he had planned to visit him at the hospital, writing: ‘Wait what? I was supposed to go see him at the clinic. Is this a joke?’
On X, actor Emeka Nwagbaraocha wrote: ‘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…’
As of press time, his family is yet to release an official statement on the cause of death or burial arrangements.
Cjay, who started acting in 2021, was known for roles in Larry Cold, Mum Overnight and A Day to My Wedding.