By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A veteran actress in the Yoruba movie industry, Sidikat Odukanwi, otherwise known as Iyabo Oko, has passed on.
One of the children of the deceased, Ms Bisi Aisha, who is military personnel, confirmed the death of her mother.
“May ur soul Rest In Peace mummy,” she posted on one of her social media pages.
Also, one of the colleagues of Iyabo Oko in Nollywood, Mrs Foluke Daramola-Salako, posted on Instagram the death of the prolific actress, who reportedly breathed her last Wednesday evening.
Iyabo Oko died after battling with an illness, which kept her away from movie locations. She finally succumbed to the illness yesterday.
“And finally, we lost her.. rip Iyabo Oko, we did our best but God knows best,” Foluke Daramola-Salako wrote.
In 2021, when one of the daughters of the late actress, Olamide, revealed that her mother was diagnosed with ischaemic stroke about five years ago but kept her health issues away from the public, some thespians rallied around with financial assistance to get her back on her feet.
Pictures of her on the internet showed the state of her health and spurred more reactions from fans and colleagues. She was treated and later discharged from the hospital. Thereafter, not much was heard about the 61-year-old actress until her death on Wednesday.
Iyabo Oko was born on November 15, 1960, in the Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State. She acted in several films before bowing out the stage.