Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, the founder and Chief Executive Officer, Africa Movies Academy Awards (AMAA) has been confirmed dead, after a brief illness.
The Quest Times gathered that the Nigerian top filmmaker breathed her last on Monday at St Nicholas Hospital, Lagos State, after being in a coma since Saturday.
Obi Emelonye, the producer of Last Flight to Abuja, in a terse confirmation that the respected and influential filmmaker breathed her last, said: “Thank you and good night dada Peace,” in a short tribute to her on the social media network, Facebook.
While colleagues and close friends, some of whom went to see her at the hospital wouldn’t believe the news of her demise, maintaining that she was merely in the intensive care unit (ICU), notable movie maker, Zik Zulu also confirmed the news.
“Our President, Peace, has passed. As at Saturday, she was reported to be in coma at Saint Nicholas. But now her family has confirmed her transition. May the memory of her life be a blessing. Rest in peace, dear Peace,” he wrote on a Nollywood platform.
However, a statement from her family confirmed the unfortunate incident on Tuesday morning. They, however, didn’t reveal the cause of her death.
“Peace left indelible imprints on the sands of time. We as a family and clan will continue to do all that is necessary to ensure that her legacy lives on,” the statement read.
The statement added that the Africa Movie Academy Awards and the Africa Film Academy, along with their training programmes across Nigeria and the African continent, will carry on seamlessly, the institutions she set up and with the full support of the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation and other institutions and government agencies she has worked with over the years.
“We would announce the details of her rites of passage in due course,” the family added.
The industrious woman would be remembered as one of those who shaped the face of the new Nollywood, as her contributions to the industry cannot not be over-emphasized.
Peace Anyiam-Osigwe was not only the Founder of the African Movie Academy Awards, AMAA, she was also the President of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) and one of the most prominent figures in Nollywood.