One of Nigeria’s best film actors, Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, is dead.
He died on Wednesday 16 September, 2026, following prolonged illness. His son, announced his passing in a social media post.
Born on July 11, 1942, to parents from Egba Alake, Jacobs spent his early childhood in Kano, where he attended Holy Trinity School and participated in the debating and drama societies.
His decision to pursue acting was inspired by one of Chief Hubert Ogunde’s annual concert parties at the Colonial Hotel in Kano. The experience convinced him to pursue a career in the performing arts, eventually taking him to England to study acting.
Jacobs trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London before beginning a career that took him through British theatre and television.
One of his early stage appearances was in A Taste of Honey at Sheffield’s newly opened Crucible Theatre in 1972. He subsequently appeared in several British television productions, including The Goodies, Till Death Us Do Part, Barlow at Large, The Venturers, Angels, The Tomorrow People, 1990 and The Professionals.