Cleopatra Tawo, known more commonly as Cleo Tao (died 1 December 2017) was a radio host at Planet FM 101.1 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. She was the host of the radio shows ''DayBreak on Planet'' and ''AutoMania''. Before joining Planet FM, Tawo worked at Rhythm FM 93.7 in Port Harcourt,

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

, where she hosted shows such as ''Morning Drive'', ''Afternoon Drive'', ''Sunday at the Rhythm'' and ''Midnight Caller''.

Early life

Tawo was raised in Port Harcourt, the capital of

, Nigeria. She grew up in a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family originally from Boki, though her parents were enlightened liberals who encouraged entertainment in their home.

Career

Tawo was trained as a lawyer before venturing into

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

in 2000. Her first professional employment as a radio host was at Silverbird's Rhythm FM 93.7 in Port Harcourt. There, she hosted several shows including ''Morning Drive'', ''Afternoon Drive'', ''Sunday at the Rhythm'' and ''Midnight Caller''. She was later employed at Planet FM 101.1 Uyo, where she hosted shows like ''Daybreak on Planet'' and ''AutoMania''. Tawo was also the station's Head Of Programmes.

Legal issues

On 19 December 2005, she was arrested along with colleague Klem Ofuokwu by agents of the State Security Service (SSS). They were charged with airing fabricated news about a bridge failure on

Rhythm 93.7 FM Port Harcourt Rhythm 93.7 FM is a commercial radio station located in the Old GRA neighborhood of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The station broadcasts an urban contemporary radio format, playing a variety of music genres including R&B, hip hop, with occasio ...

. Rivers State Attorney General Henry Ajumogobia withdrew the charges on 2 February 2006. They had been detained for two weeks before being released on bail.

Death

During late November 2017, Tawo began suffering from a

respiratory illness Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, br ...

and was admitted to a hospital. On 1 December 2017, she died at the

University of Uyo Teaching Hospital 'The University of Uyo Teaching Hospital'' (UUTH) is a tertiary hospital in Abak road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, an administrative division of Nigeria. The hospital started as the Akwa Ibom State Specialist Hospital, formed by the Akwa Ibom State Gov ...

. Tawo was admitted to UUTH's emergency

intensive care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensiv ...

. Prior to her demise, she had posted a status update on her facebook account that " hehad a respiratory challenge, I’m responding to treatment. I’ll be out soon. Thnx for your kind prayers".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tawo, Cleopatra 20th-century births 2017 deaths Radio personalities from Port Harcourt Silverbird Communications people Nigerian Roman Catholics Nigerian radio presenters Nigerian women radio presenters Respiratory disease deaths in Nigeria Year of birth unknown

Early life

Career

Legal issues

Death

See also

References