Ailing Nollywood actor, Victor Olaotan, died on Thursday after a prolonged illness. The 69-year-old actor, who is best known for his role as Fred Ade-Williams in the popular TV series, Tinsel, was bedridden for five years after he was involved in a ghastly accident.
The actor was driving to a movie set in 2016 when the accident took place around Apple Junction, in Festac, Lagos. He had, until recently, been battling for his life in a Turkish hospital for almost three years.
His widow, Julia Olaotan, broke the news of his death to Premium Times on Friday morning. Mrs Olaotan said she is grateful that the 69-year-old actor can finally go to rest after suffering for years.
“He has tried. It is not easy to be trapped in your own body for five years. He can finally rest now,” she said. The late actor was recently flown back to Nigeria, where his condition deteriorated when the family could no longer shoulder his medical expenses abroad.
In 2018, the actor requested financial aid to facilitate his treatments outside the country, after two years of being incapacitated. Shortly after, Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola, agreed to settle his bill of about N39m.
The actor’s wife confirmed that the money was paid directly into the account of the hospital in Turkey.
His illness In February, Mrs Olaotan told this newspaper in an interview that though the actor was getting better, she could no longer pay the hospital bills that were already piled up.
She said: “Medically, he is improving, and there has been a lot of improvement. His recent picture was what was used to do his birthday wish on social media so there has been a lot of improvement.
“The major challenge is financial and that has been a struggle. We have come out occasionally to ask for funds and we are not ignorant to the fact that there are challenges. With the COVID pandemic, everybody has been affected, locally and internationally. But I have bills to pay. His hospital bill is $7,500 a month, and the main reason he is there, I actually haven’t done it, is to get his procedure done. We have done the first stage of the medical procedure, it was that first phase that Mr Otedola paid for.”
She added that the hospital also sent her some documents, threatening to take legal actions against her if her bills were not paid up.
Mr Olaotan featured in movies like “Love struck” as well as “Three Wise Men”, alongside Richard Mofe-Damijo and Zack Orji.
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