Popular Nollywood actor Alex Ekubo is dead at 40, with tributes pouring in on Tuesday from colleagues who said the news had left them shaken. Funke Akindele, Bolanle Ninalowo and Godwin Nnadiekwe each confirmed his death in posts that quickly spread across social media.

Akindele said on her Instagram story that she had tried to reach out and see Ekubo one more time. Ninalowo wrote, “Rest on, Alex. May God heal your family and us all,” while Nnadiekwe said Nollywood had lost “a rare soul.” Ekubo’s family had not issued a statement as of the time of filing.

The death lands after weeks in which fans had already begun worrying about him. A recent video posted by user @AsakyGRN on X showed Ekubo interacting with a group of children and marked his first public appearance after months of social media silence. In the clip, he appeared noticeably slimmer and subdued, and the post was captioned, “Alex Ekubo spotted for the first time since disappearing from social media.”

That concern was sharpened by the fact that Ekubo had been absent from Instagram since December 30, 2024. The silence fueled questions about his wellbeing before the video circulated, but no explanation had been publicly given before Tuesday’s confirmation of his death.

Ekubo had long been a familiar name in Nollywood, but parts of his private life also drew public attention. In January 2023, Fancy Acholonu revealed that she dated him for five years without any intimacy, years after she called off their wedding in December 2021. She later apologized to him a year later, writing, “like our shirt says, Nothing makes sense when we’re apart @alexxekubo you still have my heart,” and, “I miss you, I love you, and I’m truly sorry for all the hurt & pain you and your family went through with our breakup.”

Ekubo had also addressed the public curiosity around why he was not married, saying on his Instagram page that he knew some people were interested in the issue but that he was more focused on making money. He urged people not to bother about his marital status. With the family still silent and colleagues now mourning him in public, Tuesday closed with the industry facing the loss of a star whose absence had already been noticed before the confirmation arrived.