Veteran actor Sadiq Daba is dead

Etim Effiong

Nigerian actor and former broadcaster Sadiq Daba, who is best known for his role as “Inspector Waziri” in the film October 1, has died.

Daba died on Wednesday evening, March 3, 2021, after a protracted battle with leukaemia and prostate cancer.

PUNCH had reported that a close friend of the actor, Joe Odumakin, said that Daba’s wife confirmed her husband’s death.

“His wife just called me now and we spoke,” Odumakin told PUNCH. “She said that she was at the morgue. I asked what happened and she told me that about a week ago, he had been ill but he had been home and that he went to the hospital late afternoon today.

“She explained that he had not been eating much and that as soon as they got to the hospital, they started conducting different tests on him including COVID-19. They put him on oxygen, but he died around 8:30 pm.”

Daba, born Sadiq Abubakar Daba, disclosed in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Leukemia and Prostate Cancer. He was supported with fundraising by several Nigerians including the billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola.

Daba worked with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) for over three decades until he retired. His acting career came to prominence in the late 1970s, starring in “Cockcrow at Dawn.”

In 2015, Daba won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Inspector Waziri in Kunle Afolayan’s psychological thriller “October 1”.