Veteran Nollywood actor Francis Duru has died at 57 after a brief illness. His family announced the news on his verified Instagram page in the early hours of Friday, October 23. A family source told Channels Television that he died at about 10 pm on Thursday at the National Hospital in Abuja. The cause of his illness has not been disclosed.
Duru was born on July 27, 1969, in Cameroon to Nigerian parents from Imo State, and his screen career began in 1989. He became widely known as Ahanna in Amaka Igwe’s classic film Rattlesnake, and his credits include Blood Money, One Chance, Stigma and Mboputa, which won him a Best of Nollywood Award for best actor in an Igbo lead role in 2020. He also worked as a producer, director, voice-over artist and master of ceremonies, and served as interim president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria in 2010.
His death came two years after the loss of his 15-year-old son, Ifeanyi, and about five weeks after the industry lost another veteran, Olu Jacobs. Kanayo O. Kanayo described him as “a consummate actor” on Instagram. Kate Henshaw, Stephanie Linus and Mercy Johnson also paid tribute, and the Actors Guild of Nigeria mourned him as an iconic actor.
Duru belonged to the generation that built Nollywood’s early identity, and that generation is leaving quickly. Two losses in five weeks make a practical point as well as an emotional one: the films, interviews and production stories of these pioneers need to be preserved while the people who made them can still be asked about them.
Quick facts:
- Died October 22, 2026, at the National Hospital Abuja; announced October 23
- Known as Ahanna in Rattlesnake; career spanning more than three decades
- Former interim president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria
- Death follows that of his son two years ago
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