Ex-NFL star OJ Simpson is dead

A former American football star, actor and notorious suspected double murderer, OJ Simpson, is dead.

The former football star died of cancer at 76 and his family confirmed this in a statement on Thursday.

He was tried in 1995 and controversially acquitted for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

His trial was one of the world's most-watched popular culture events of the last century.

Simpson's death was announced on X in a simple message from his family:

"On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.

"He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace."

He joined the list of popular figures who have passed on in the past 24 hours.

In Nigeria, a popular actor, Junior Pope, alongside some of his colleagues and crew members died in a boat mishap on Anam River in Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria, on Wednesday.

Also, a former Nigerian minister and a presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2023 election, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, died on Thursday.

We gathered that Onu, who was the first civilian governor in Abia State, died in Abuja.