Kannywood: Nigerian Hausa film star Daso dies

A popular Nigerian film actress Saratu Gidado Daso has died at the age of 56.

Daso died in the northern city of Kano in the early hours of Tuesday in her sleep, her family and colleagues said.

Fans and colleagues have been paying tributes to the movie star known for her comedy and antagonist roles in the Hausa film industry known as Kannywood, which is based in northern Nigeria.

Many on social media describe Daso's death as 'shocking'.

Saratu Daso was a ''star and mother in Kannywood'', Abba El-Mustafa, the head of Kano State Films and Censorship Board said in his tribute.

Death in sleep

''We pray Allah to grant her mercy and forgive her shortcomings,'' he added.

El-Mustafa said she died in her sleep after taking her pre-dawn meal (Sahoor) for fast on the final day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The exact cause of her death was not immediately clear.

Though mainly produced in northern Nigeria, Hausa films are popular across West and Central Africa as well as among Hausa-speaking diaspora around the world.

Daso had a career spanning two decades in the film industry.

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