Nollywood Loses Atinuke Kareem to Breast Cancer, Eight Days After Ogogo

ABEOKUTA

Nollywood is mourning another of its own after the death of Yoruba actress Atinuke Remilekun Kareem, popularly known as Atinuke Kareem, who passed away following a prolonged battle with breast cancer, barely eight days after veteran actor Alhaji Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, also succumbed to cancer.

Her passing was formally announced through her professional association, and tributes have since focused on her contribution to Yoruba cinema and the outpouring of public support during her illness.

According to a statement posted on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon by Owolabi Ajasa, governor of the Ogun State chapter of the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), Kareem died after an extended fight against breast cancer.

“We sincerely appreciate everyone who contributed financially, offered prayers, encouragement, and support towards the treatment of our dear colleague, Atinuke Remilekun Kareem,” Ajasa wrote, adding that despite those efforts, “Atinuke has passed on and answered the final call.”

A struggle that had already drawn public appeals

Findings by ValidViewNetwork show Kareem’s passing comes roughly four months after she reportedly appealed to members of the public for financial assistance to help fund her treatment, an appeal that drew support from colleagues, family and fans within the Yoruba film community, according to Ajasa’s statement.

Despite that support, her condition did not improve, and her death was confirmed on Tuesday, 1 September.

A second loss for an industry still grieving

Checks by ValidViewNetwork show Kareem’s death lands squarely within a period of mourning Nollywood had barely begun to move past; veteran actor Ogogo died on 23 August after his own battle with stage-four cancer, with his eighth-day Fidau prayer held only the day before Kareem’s passing was announced.

The near-back-to-back losses, both tied to cancer, have reignited conversation within the industry about the financial strain long-term illness places on entertainers who often lack structured health insurance or union-backed medical support.

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How the industry is responding

Ajasa’s statement closed with a note of submission rather than protest, reflecting a tone that has run through much of the industry’s public mourning this month.

“We cannot question the Almighty God,” he wrote. “We can only submit to His will and pray that He grants her eternal rest and gives her family, colleagues, and loved ones the strength to bear this painful loss.”

As tributes continue to pour in from colleagues across the Yoruba film industry, attention is likely to turn, as it did with Ogogo, to how the community organises to honour her memory in the weeks ahead.