Okechukwu Okereke, the late Nollywood actress Cynthia Okereke’s husband, has spoken out about her death and the financial difficulties the family is currently facing in planning the funeral ceremony.
According to Citi News, Okereke claimed in an interview with Vanguard that he is fully responsible for organising his wife’s burial plans with the help of his son.
He emphasised the critical need for financial assistance in order to conduct a dignified send-off for his late wife, expressing disappointment in the Actors Guild of Nigeria’s (AGN) refusal to support his family.
Okechukwu stated that his wife did not recover from the kidnapping incident and that the medication she took while in captivity caused issues in her health.
He stated,
“After the kidnapping issue, the trauma came in. She developed a leg problem because they tied her legs.
“When she was released from the kidnappers’ den, she had severe pain and we rushed her to the orthopaedic hospital, where it was discovered that the pain relief drugs she took had affected her tummy.
“At that point, we moved her to a specialist hospital in Owerri, where she was placed on life support. And on Tuesday, July 11, she gave up the ghost, after she spent about four months at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, Enugu.”
Concerning the ransom paid to his wife’s captors, Mr Okereke stated that his family and Cynthia’s family also contributed to the payment, and that the cash raised by AGN were not given to them.
He stated,
“I can confirm to you that no dime has been given to my family by AGN till date. My family brought 50% of the kidnap ransom, while Cynthia’s family brought the remaining
50%.
“Till date, we haven’t received anything from the leadership of the guild”
A source from the Enugu State chapter of the Actors Guild of Nigeria rejected the accusation, claiming that the money was paid to the two families.
According to an AGN source,
“You can believe whatever he tells you but the truth is that the money was handed over to him, in our office.
He’s a big liar if he denies that he didn’t collect the money”