Philemon Ihediwa, a Nigerian movie producer and actor died alone, unnoticed for five days.
Ihediwa was found dead in his apartment in Smithfield, North Carolina on the evening of Saturday, March 5, 2016. He is believed to have fallen on the floor of his bathroom, 5 days earlier, hit his head on the bathtub leading to his untimely death.
According to a police source, his bloated body was found in his bathroom after a female friend who had not heard from him for days raised an alarm. The medical examiner concluded that Ihediwa may have died from a “heart attack and seizure” and put the time of his death at 5 days before he was found.
Punch reports that Ihediwa had spoken to a female friend, Louise Gorsham, on Monday before his death. In the telephone conversation, he complained about not feeling well and said he would be retiring early to bed. Gorsham, who lives in a different part of town, said she asked him to call her when he woke up and they said their goodnights.
Ihediwa wrote, directed, produced, and started in his first movie, Congo Boy in the City. The film was released in 2006 in the United States. He is one of the few Nigerian actors to relocate to the United States with the intent of making it big in Hollywood.
“The next day, I called several times throughout the day but he did not respond to my call. I sent text messages. No response. I waited till Wednesday to repeat calls and text messages. I did not hear from him. I was also at work,” Gorsham shares her heartbreak.
“By Saturday afternoon, after I closed from work, I pleaded with a coworker to drive me to Ihed’s (Ihediwa) apartment in Smithfield, a thirty minutes ride from Raleigh. I was mad at him. I thought he was ignoring my calls on purpose, might be he had found another lady.
“But when I got to his apartment, I noticed his car was in his parking space. I began to smell stench coming from his door. I knew something wasn’t right.
“Immediately, I called the Smithfield Police department and requested a welfare check on my friend. The police arrived few minutes later, broke into his apartment and found him dead on the floor, bloated and oozing.
“My friend died lonely from a broken heart and years of pains from being denied relationships with his children.
“He loved those kids. Ihed told me many times that his wife had, through the years, barred his children from visiting him. She set them up against their dad while she was busy collecting heavy child support. That man was a very great man. All he wanted was to be a good father to his children. But his ex wife was in the way. Now he is gone,” she concluded.
Ihediwa married his ex-wife, Stella in 1996 and they had three sons together. They divorced after 10 years of marriage.
There is no comment from Ihediwa’s ex wife on his death.
