The news broke in the early hours of Thursday that Patrick Okoye, the veteran Nollywood actor beloved as “Energy,” has passed away.
He was not just a face on screen; he was also a lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. There, he shaped young minds and trained the next generation of actors before stepping in front of the camera to remind everyone why they fell in love with Nollywood in the first place.
Who Pat Energy Was
For years, Pat Okoye filled a specific space in Nigerian cinema by playing chiefs, elders, and the kind of authoritative, slightly humorous father figures that gave old Nollywood its warmth. 
His filmography stretches back to the early 2000s, featuring titles like Midnight Love (2003), Old School (2002), One Dollar (2002), Crazy Landlord (2002), Over My Dead Body (2002), Echele Eji Eti Akụ, and The Last Good Man. More recently, he appeared in Finding a Wife (2022), The Jagaban (2025), and The Lion (2025)—working until the very end and never truly stopping.
A Father, a Friend, a Lecturer
Students who sat in his classes knew him differently from the fans who watched him on screen; to them, he was strict, knowledgeable, and deeply caring. Colleagues describe him as a true father figure—not the Hollywood kind, but the real kind who checks on you, corrects you privately, and celebrates you publicly.
Details surrounding his death remain unknown as of this publication. No statement has been released by his family, the university has not officially commented, and his colleagues are still processing the loss.
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The Bottom Line
Patrick Okoye, “Energy,” has left the building.
He left behind a classroom of students who will carry his lessons forward, a filmography that spans two decades, and the memory of a man who wore many hats—actor, lecturer, father, and friend—and wore them all well.
While details of his passing remain unclear, for now, there is only grief, gratitude, and the quiet recognition that Nollywood has lost one of its steady hands.
Rest well, Energy. You taught, you performed, and you mattered.
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