Nollywood actress and filmmaker Ruth Kadiri has moved to shut down a wave of false death reports that swept across social media over the weekend, telling fans in a video posted to her Instagram page on Sunday that she is alive, healthy, and was never involved in any accident.
The rumours, which claimed the actress had died, with some versions alleging a fatal accident, spread rapidly online before Kadiri stepped in to set the record straight. Speaking directly to her followers, she reiterated that the story was entirely fabricated and pleaded with fans to stop sharing it further.
According to her account of events, the hoax did not originate from a single source but from a coordinated push. Kadiri said she woke up to find that several social media accounts had been created solely to spread false claims about her death, with between seven and eight newly created accounts actively posting content alleging that a tragedy had befallen her.
Beyond simply denying the reports, the actress used the moment to speak candidly about the emotional toll of being targeted this way.
She expressed sadness over what she described as the disturbing lengths some people go to on social media to hurt others and wish death on them, adding that she prefers to keep to herself and stay out of other people’s affairs.
She appealed directly to whoever was behind the accounts to leave her alone, describing the whole episode as “tiring and sad.”
Kadiri isn’t the only Nollywood figure to have had to publicly fight off a fabricated death report. Industry watchers note that false death reports about public figures on social media have become a recurring problem in Nigeria’s entertainment scene, often spreading panic among fans and family before the person involved can respond.
Colleagues in the industry, including actress Rita Edochie and veteran actor Kanayo O. Kanayo, have previously condemned similar hoaxes involving other Nollywood stars, with Kanayo once publicly demanding to know why anyone would print obituary posters for someone still very much alive.
To try to stop the story from spreading further, Kadiri called on her followers to actively report every page circulating the false claim, framing it as the only real way to choke off the misinformation at its source rather than simply issuing a denial and hoping it fades.
The scare comes at a moment when Kadiri is otherwise riding high professionally. She has been deep in promotion for her latest project, Once Upon a Village, a series that has been generating steady buzz across her digital platforms.
She recently dropped Episode 5 on her RuthKadiri247 channel, with a cast that includes Henrietta Ibekwe and Deza. The great part of the growing slate of original productions and behind-the-scenes content she has used to build a loyal digital audience independent of traditional cinema and television distribution.
For now, Kadiri’s message to the public is simple: she is safe, she is working, and the reports of her death were never true.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Ruth Kadiri is alive and well. The death reports circulating online were a coordinated hoax traced to seven or eight fake accounts created to spread false claims, not a real event. She’s urging the public to verify before sharing and to report the offending pages while continuing her work on Once Upon a Village.
