Nollywood actress Ruth Kadiri debunks death rumours circulating on social media

Nollywood actress and filmmaker Ruth Kadiri has addressed false reports claiming she died in a car accident, coming out publicly to confirm she is alive, unhurt and had not been involved in any accident.

Kadiri made the clarification on Sunday after waking up to discover that several coordinated social media accounts had been created overnight specifically to spread the false reports. She said she counted as many as seven to eight accounts running the same fabricated story simultaneously.

Rather than engaging with the rumours directly, she urged fans to use platform reporting tools to take down the accounts responsible.

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“Hey guys, please note that I am alive. I did not have any accident, and I am safe. If you see any of those pages carrying this terrible news, because I woke up and somebody created seven to eight accounts just to make content like this, please help me report the page.”

“Just one click, one report, that’s all I require from you. Don’t even bother trying to debunk the news; just report the page,” she said.

Beyond the clarification itself, Kadiri spoke about how distressing it was to be targeted in this way, describing the experience as emotionally draining.

“I am really sad at the extent to which some people will go on this social media space to hurt and wish death on another person. I stay in my lane. Leave me alone. I beg you all. It’s really becoming tiring and sad,” she said.

Death hoaxes targeting Nigerian celebrities have become an increasingly common feature of the social media landscape, with fake accounts often packaging the false claims as breaking news to maximise shares before they can be flagged or taken down. The pattern typically involves fabricated accident reports, sometimes accompanied by edited images or misleading headlines pulled from unrelated stories.

Kadiri’s response follows a pattern seen among other Nollywood figures who have had to publicly address similar hoaxes in recent years, with many noting that the speed at which false information spreads often means the rumour reaches far more people than the correction does.

The actress has continued to focus on her latest project, Once Upon a Village, a series she has been releasing through her digital platform RuthKadiri247, with Episode 5 recently featuring actors Henrietta Ibekwe and Deza The Great.