Nollywood veteran Uche Odoputa has opened up once more about the devastating loss of his father, Kenneth Chukwumezie Odoputa, who was kidnapped and killed in Imo State in 2022.
In an emotional social media statement, the actor announced that the family will finally hold a funeral for the man fondly called “Honestman” in the coming weeks, even though they still have no remains to lay to rest.
“We have no body to lay to rest, but we have his life to remember, his dignity to honour and our love to express,” Odoputa wrote.
He explained that after more than three years of unresolved pain, the family has chosen to honour his father’s memory with an empty casket ceremony.
The actor recounted the nightmare that began when his father travelled to the East to visit his best friend, Raphael Ojukwu. Both men were abducted by gunmen in Orsu Local Government Area. At the time, Odoputa publicly appealed for prayers and support while the family searched desperately. They eventually paid the demanded ransom in the hope of a safe return. Instead, the kidnappers killed both men.
“There’s a saying – may Nigeria never happen to you. For my family, those words carry a pain that is difficult to explain. A few years ago, my father was visiting his best friend in eastern Nigeria when they were both kidnapped. At that time, I spoke publicly because we were searching for him. We were praying, pleading and hoping that he would come home. Our family paid the ransom, yet my father and his friend were killed by their abductors,” he said.
The years that followed have been marked by quiet, private grief. Odoputa described watching his mother live without her husband and how he and his siblings have carried the weight of their father’s absence.
“Behind those words are years of grief. Years of watching my mother live with the absence of her husband. My siblings and I try to carry the loss of our father. You have seen me smiling, encouraging others. Alongside all that, I have been grieving,” he shared.
The experience took a toll on his own health and well-being, though he credits his faith for sustaining him.
“This experience affected my health and my well-being. My faith in God has sustained me, and I am grateful to still be here. But the pain has been real,” Odoputa added.
He closed the message with a tender farewell:
“Dad, we love you. We remember you. We will always honour you.”
He also encouraged others dealing with loss to speak to someone they trust and seek support.
In May 2022, Odoputa first raised the alarm after his father and Ojukwu had already spent weeks in captivity. He continued appealing publicly for weeks and later months as no information about their fate emerged. The empty-casket funeral now represents a long-delayed chance for the family to mark Kenneth Odoputa’s life with dignity after years without closure.