Nigerian movie maker Ihediwa found dead in bathroom
– Neighbour
goes in search of Ihediwa only to perceive foul smell from his house –
Preliminary findings showed movie actor, director died of heart attack –
Examiners say he may have died five days earlier
A Nigerian
movie producer and actor, Philemon Ihediwa is dead. The Punch reports that
Ihediwa, one of the few Nigerian actors who ventured into Hollywood, was found
dead in his American apartment bathroom on Saturday.
Police sources said his
bloated body was found in his apartment as he fell on the floor in his
bathroom, hitting his head against the bathtub. The Monday preceding the
incident, Ihed (as he is fondly called in the US), during a telephone
conversation with his female friend, Louise Gorsham, who lived ‘across town,
had complained about not feeling well and that he would retire early to bed as
the woman pleaded with him to call her when he woke up at sunrise to which he
agreed and they both wished each other goodnight. According to her: “The next
day, I called several times throughout the day but he did not respond to my
call. I sent text messages. No response. I waited till Wednesday to repeat calls
and text messages. I did not hear from him. I was also at work.
“By Saturday
afternoon, after I closed from work, I pleaded with a coworker to drive me to
Ihed’s apartment in Smithfield, a thirty minutes ride from Raleigh. I was mad
at him. I thought he was ignoring my calls on purpose, might be he had found
another lady. “But when I got to his apartment, I noticed his car was in his
parking space. I began to smell stench coming from his door. I knew something
wasn’t right.
“Immediately, I called the Smithfield Police department and
requested a welfare check on my friend. The police arrived few minutes later,
broke into his apartment and found him dead on the floor, bloated and oozing.
My friend died lonely from a broken heart and years of pains from being denied
relationships with his children.
“He loved those kids.
Ihed told me many times
that his wife had, through the years, barred his children from visiting him.
She set them up against their dad while she was busy collecting heavy child
support. That man was a very great man. All he wanted was to be a good father
to his children. But his ex-wife was in the way. Now he is gone.” Preliminary
findings by Smithfield medical examiner’s office showed that he may have died
of seizure and possible heart attack.
As it was in
their record that, “his body was bloated and near decomposition when he was
found in his bathroom. The heat in the apartment accelerated decomposition
process.
” The medical Examiner also concluded that Ihed might have died five
days earlier. Ihediwa was married to ex-wife Stella in 1996 and despite the
fact that the wedding was blessed with three boys, the couple parted ways after
ten years. The actor’s death is coming on the heels of several deaths being
recorded by the Nigerian movie industry, as Joseph Adu, the Nollywood ace
actor, was also recently pronounced dead. Adu was one of the few surviving
actors in popular old TV drama, The Village
Headmaster and according to The
Punch, the actor who was fondly known as Jab Adu passed on in Abeokuta, Ogun
state, on Sunday, February 28.
A source close to his family reportedly
confirmed the death but could not provide total details regarding Adu’s passage.
Source: Naij.com
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