Final Goodbye: Olu Jacobs’ family announces funeral date

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Veteran Nigerian actor Oludotun Baiyewun Jacobs, popularly known as Olu Jacobs, will be laid to rest on Friday, October 2, 2026, as his family has scheduled a Night of Tributes and funeral service to honour his life and decades-long contribution to Nigeria’s creative industry.

The funeral service will hold at 10 a.m. at This Present House, Freedom Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos State, with the family adopting shades of green as the dress code for the ceremony.

Ahead of the burial, the family will hold a Night of Tributes on Wednesday, September 30, at 4 p.m. at Glover Memorial Hall, 19 Marina Road, Lagos Island. The dress code for the event is shades of blue.

As preparations gather pace, Jacobs’ widow, veteran actress Joke Silva, has formally invited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to attend the funeral ceremonies.

In a letter dated September 23, 2026, and addressed to the President, Silva expressed the family’s appreciation for Tinubu’s condolence message following Jacobs’ death and for his recognition of the late actor’s contributions to Nigeria’s creative industry.

Silva said the President’s condolence message and prayers had brought comfort to the family during the difficult period.

She invited Tinubu to join the family at the Night of Tributes and funeral service as they celebrate Jacobs’ life, his contribution to the Nigerian creative industry and the legacy he left behind.

The family described Jacobs as a man who devoted more than five decades to the arts, contributing to the enrichment of Nigeria’s cultural heritage.

“Your Excellency’s presence would be a great honour to our family and would mean a great deal to us as we gather to pay our final respects to a man who devoted over five decades of his life to the arts and to the enrichment of Nigeria’s cultural heritage,” Silva wrote.

The invitation comes as the family prepares to bring to a close the funeral rites for one of Nigeria’s most celebrated figures in the creative industry.