Nollywood

Olaiya Igwe dismisses false illness rumours

Published on September 14, 2026

Olaiya Igwe dismisses false illness rumours, saying a film clip of him returning from hospital was acting, not real sickness

Nollywood actor Ebun Oloyede, popularly known as Olaiya Igwe, on Saturday, 13 September 2026, rejected online claims that he was seriously ill and said the footage that alarmed fans came from a film set.

Also read: 2Baba’s wife Natasha vows to become Nigeria’s president

Mr Oloyede, speaking in a new video, thanked those who had worried about him and asked them to calm down. The Olaiya Igwe dismisses false illness rumours message was simple: the frailty on screen was a part, not a medical bulletin.

“May God not allow us to be sick. Anyone who does this kind of work should be able to play any role,” he said. “It is true that I have seen some things on the internet where some people think their father is sick. I did exactly what the director asked me to do.”

He said the scene was shot for filmmaker Mr Latin and showed him coming home from hospital while his children cared for him. “It showed that my children were taking care of me because I was still recovering,” he said. A good actor, he added, must make the moment believable. Praise and criticism would both follow. “You cannot satisfy everybody. And for those who are genuinely concerned, please relax. There’s no problem.”

Nollywood has lived this mix up before. A convincing sickbed scene travels faster than a caption, and veterans who play fathers and elders are especially easy to read as themselves. Mr Oloyede’s point was that versatility is the job. If the role looks real, the clip will look like news.

He did not name a diagnosis because, in his account, there is none to name. The public concern still matters. It shows a following that treats him as family.

His reply treats that care with courtesy and then draws a line between the man and the character who walked out of a hospital door on Mr Latin’s set.