Nollywood star Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha announces death of her father

Nollywood actress Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha has announced the death of her father, Leonard Ndukaife Chukwuka, in an emotional post on Instagram on Friday.

“My beloved father, Leonard Ndukaife Chukwuka, has gone to be with the Lord,” she wrote, Punch Newspapers reported (https://punchng.com/actress-chioma-chukwuka-akpotha-loses-father/). “I lost my mother 13 years ago and now that my father is gone, the thought that I have neither parent here anymore breaks my heart in a way I cannot fully explain. So na only me bayi?”

Describing him as “my daddy, papa’m, obara’m, my comfort”, the actress said she was thankful he lived a long life and saw his children and grandchildren, though the family had hoped he would also meet his great-grandchildren.

“No matter how many years we are given with a parent, we still want one more conversation, one more embrace, one more day,” she wrote.

She said she had kept the news private while coming to terms with her grief — “I have held this news close while trying to understand my own grief” — before deciding to announce his death. She asked the public to keep her, her siblings and the entire Chukwuka family in their prayers, adding that funeral arrangements would be announced when the family is ready.

The announcement closed with a tribute — “Rest well, Olowo of Ikate, my father. I will always love you” — alongside biblical passages including Proverbs 17:6 and Psalm 34:18.

Chukwuka-Akpotha began her acting career in 2000 and won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2007 for Sins of the Flesh (https://www.qed.ng/chioma-akpotha-loses-father-13-years-after-mothers-death/).