The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) has firmly denied rumours circulating on social media suggesting that its Managing Director, Dr Ali Nuhu, has died.
Speculation about the actor and filmmaker’s death began after a Facebook video, posted by a user identified as Ifeoma Chigbo, claimed that Nuhu had passed away. The claim was further fuelled by another post alleging that he was involved in a fatal car accident.
In a statement released on Monday, the NFC’s Director of Public Affairs, Brian Etuk, described the reports as “false and malicious,” stressing that the veteran actor is “alive, well, and fully carrying out his responsibilities.”
Etuk said: “The attention of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) has been drawn to the purported passing of Dr Ali Nuhu, its current Managing Director/Chief Executive, being orchestrated within the social media space; and wishes to officially and unambiguously inform the general public that the reports, including videos laced with the pictures of Dr Ali Nuhu, are not only malicious and injurious but false in their entirety.”
He further affirmed that “Dr Ali Nuhu is alive, well, and discharging the responsibilities of the office of NFC’s Chief Executive, having been appointed by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) on 12 February 2024.”
The NFC warned that steps are being taken to identify and penalise those behind the misinformation. According to Etuk, “NFC wishes to draw the attention of perpetrators of these uncouth and dastardly acts, including their sponsors, to the dire and unmistakable consequences of their actions, no matter the innocuousness of their intent.”
He added that “appropriate measures have been initiated to arrest this ugly, baleful, and unsatisfactory conduct and trend.”
The Corporation also thanked Nigerians and stakeholders for their concern following the false reports.
Dr Ali Nuhu, often referred to as the “King of Kannywood,” has enjoyed a career spanning more than two decades, featuring in hundreds of Hausa and English films. In February 2024, he was appointed Managing Director of the NFC by President Tinubu, with a mandate to revitalise Nigeria’s film sector.
