Leo Edochie, son of veteran actor Pete Edochie, has reacted to viral claims alleging that his father has died.
The rumours began circulating on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday after a user identified as D Great alleged that the actor was rushed to the hospital and later died under unspecified circumstances.
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The user further claimed, falsely, that Edochie’s eldest son confirmed the actor’s death on Instagram.
D Great wrote: “Nollywood actor Pete Edochie have just passed away at the age of 78 after being rushed to the hospital last due to unknown circumstances. His elder son has confirmed the passing of Pete Edochie this morning on his IG. It was a tragic moment, he said, Rest in peace, sir.”
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The post quickly gained traction, with several other X users circulating the claim without verification.
Clarification
However, in a video posted on his Instagram page on Tuesday night, Leo dismissed the rumours, insisting that the 78-year-old was hale and hearty.
He further described the claims as baseless, stating that they emanated from “the pit of hell.”
Leo said: “I have been besieged with calls, text messages, WhatsApp messages, over some nonsense that people posted that our father, Chief Pete Edochie, is dead, which is a lie from the pit of hell. Our father, Chief Pete Edochie, is not just alive, but hale and hearty.
“I tell you something, if you are wishing someone dead, two things usually happen. He lives very long, and you will die before him. I repeat, if you wish somebody dead, two things usually happen. One, he will live very long, and two, you will die before him. Shame to all of you. God punish all of you.”
Backstory
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that this was not the first time rumours of the veteran actor’s death had surfaced.
The newspaper further gathered that in July 2022, Uche, the son of the actor who rose to prominence in the 1980s for his portrayal of Okonkwo in the Nigerian Television Authority’s adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”, debunked a similar claim.
He said the rumours that his father had died in an accident were false.
Posting on Instagram at the time, Uche affirmed that his father was alive and had not been involved in any car crash.
He further criticised those behind the rumours, pointing out that such unfounded reports about his father’s death had circulated repeatedly over the past two decades.
“Hi, everyone. My dad is okay. No, he is not dead, and he has not been in an accident. Believe it or not, for the past twenty years, a group of people has taken up the task of declaring that my dad is dead.
They do this every other year. Human beings are a weird bunch. I wonder what motivates people to do things like this. These are adults. I guess they do it to drive traffic to their websites or just for their attention. Who knows?
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“If this were a one-off incident, I would not even bother to talk about it. But they have persisted. They have been doing this for years now, and in the past few days, friends have been calling us yet again.
My dad must be some superhero because, according to the people peddling this news, he has died like a hundred times in the past twenty years. Anyway, thanks, guys. Just needed to drop a quick one and shut this madness down. Have a superb week,” he wrote.
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