The Nigerian entertainment industry over the years have been riddled with tales of celebrities involved in all sorts of activities ranging from drug to fraud.

In this expose, Biztellers’ Funmilayo Olusanya would audit some of these rumors and allegations in a bid to unravel the dirty underbelly of the Nigerian entertainment industry.

Industry giants both in the music industry and Nollywood, from Sunny Ade to Wales Omidina popularly known as ‘Babasuwe’ have all had criminal activities allegations from drug pushing to fraud labeled against them.

Quite a few of them have had run-ins with the law, with respect to drug trafficking, distribution and intent to sale and fraud.

Nigeria has a serious issue of drug trafficking, as the country is said to be a major transit point for illegal drugs being smuggled into other parts of Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

Drug trafficking is a serious crime that carries severe penalties in Nigeria. Those convicted can face long prison sentences and heavy fines.

Fraud on the other hand takes on many forms, including dubious business deals with advance fees, insurance scams, health care fraud, credit card fraud, bank fraud, and identity theft.

The most notorious of Nigerian scams is the advance-fee fraud scheme known as the “419” scheme, named after a statute in the Nigerian criminal code.

The Nigerian entertainers rumored to have been  involved in the transportation of drugs across the country, are speculated to possibly be a part of a larger criminal organization.

A number of entertainers have been charged with drug trafficking, and fraud related issue while some are currently awaiting trials.

Here, Biztellers compiles a list of prominent Nigerian entertainers, spanning across generations, who have been linked to criminal activities such as fraud and drug-related offenses.

FELA

Starting with Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the legendary Nigerian musician and political activist.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti

Fela was well known for his controversial lifestyle, including his experimentation with drugs.

Throughout his career, Fela was open about his use of marijuana and other drugs. He claimed that drugs were a means of spiritual and political expression for him, and he often used his music as a platform to voice his views on drug use and other social and political issues.

He also established a community in Lagos, Nigeria called the Kalakuta Republic, where drug use was a common occurrence among residents.

However, Fela’s drug use had negative consequences on his personal life and health. He was arrested multiple times for drug possession and spent time in prison.

Fela was scheduled to embark on a US tour on 4th September, from Lagos to New York, but was arrested on charges of currency smuggling. The Afrika 70, Fela’s back up group in the 70’s, proceeded to board the flight, assuming that Fela would join them on a later flight. However, Fela was detained and held for trial.

The band performed a few gigs in the US but eventually returned to Nigeria without Fela. During the trial, Fela declared that he had declared the £1,600 found on him on a Customs Declaration form, but the police claimed that the form had been lost, which was met with disbelief.

Customs officials who could testify in support of Fela were detained and unable to appear in court. Fela was eventually sentenced to five years and was first held in Kiri-Kiri Prison in Lagos before being transferred to Maiduguiri, further away in the north.

Despite this, Fela and Egypt 80, his back up group in the 80’s, continued to perform at the Shrine.

In another incident, Fela was accused of possessing a joint by the Nigerian police, which he allegedly swallowed. The police then waited for him to produce the evidence in his excrement.

It is rumored that Fela used another inmate’s feces to escape the charge, while others believed that he and Baba Suwe invoked the same powerful juju. This event later inspired Fela’s iconic 1975 album, “Expensive Shit.”

Apart from Fela, two of his wives Najite Anikulapo-Kuti, 45, and Helen were arrested after being caught with drugs.

Najite was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) alongside two others for allegedly possessing 340 grammes of cannabis (also known as Indian hemp) and dried weeds in her residence located in Gbemisola Street, Ikeja, Lagos.

She claimed that her involvement in drug peddling was due to temptation, as she had been selling drinks in her Ikeja residence. She hails from Delta State and said that she resorted to selling drugs to sustain her family.

Najite was apprehended with 50 grammes of the substance while another lady, Helen Richard, 36, was found in possession of 170 grammes, and Mr. Mike Arinze, 26, with 120 grammes.

Helen Richard, who used to be a dancer with Fela, also said she was selling cannabis to sustain herself. She is a single mother.

The last suspect, Mike Arinze, said: “I was drinking beer at Mama’s place when the officers came and found the hemp in my pockets. I used to sell hemp in night clubs to survive”.

Orezi

Popular Nigerian musician – Allen Esegine – who is popular called Orezi, had a run-in with the authority for a drug-related offence in 2011. Rumours have it that the artiste was arrested in Dubai, UAE, for possession and intent to distribute narcotic products.

This rumour was vigorously denied by the musician and his team. According to the artiste’s former manager, the story is a fabrication and an underhand attempt to tarnish the image of the musician. While the rumour dissipated afterwards, many still remained unconvinced.

As the saying goes; “there is no smoke without fire”. And the singer has had to deal with banters from various quarters regarding his unverified history with narcotics distribution.

Fatoke Abiodun

Veteran guitarist, Fatoke Abiodun, who, in his heyday, was the lead guitarist of Juju maestro – King Sunny Ade – is one of the few notable entertainers with drug-related criminal history.

Fatoke Abiodun was sentenced to three years imprisonment by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos for drug trafficking.

The 62-year old veteran guitarist was arrested on Tuesday, January 1, 2013 with 1.575kg of cocaine while trying to board an Air France flight to Italy at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

The drug was discovered in the false bottom of his luggage during the screening of passengers to Italy. Abiodun was reportedly sentenced to three years imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful exportation of cocaine.

He played for King Sunny Ade for 30 years before he also lost his place as King Sunny Ade’s lead guitarist, he was ignobly dismissed from the Juju king’s band.

Zinoleesky & Mohbads

Also, Nigerian singers, Oniyide Azeez, better known as Zinoleesky, and Ilerioluwa Oladimeji, also known as Mohbads, were arrested in the early hours of the morning of the 24th of February 2022, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) during a raid on their Lagos residence. The NDLEA confirmed the arrest and stated that they recovered illegal drugs, including cannabis and Molly, from the apartment and car of the two musicians.

Zinoleesky and Mohbads rose to fame after their collaborations with popular Nigerian musician, Naira Marley, in their songs and appearances in his music videos. The 26-year-old Zinoleesky is well known for his hit songs, including “Ma Pariwo” (2020), “Kilofeshe” (2020), and “Caro feat Naira Marley” (2020).

Videos of the arrest circulated online, showing the NDLEA officials in a scuffle with the two artists. The suspects themselves even streamed the moment they were rounded up on their respective Instagram pages.

The arrest of Zinoleesky and Mohbads sparked reactions from the Nigerian entertainment industry, with celebrities such as Charly Boy, Portable, and Naira Marley condemning the arrests.

Despite the controversy surrounding their arrests, the NDLEA has been firm in their stance and has stated that they will not tolerate drug-related crimes. The agency is committed to its mandate of combating drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria.

NAIRA MARLEY

Naira Marley

Naira Marley is facing trial at the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on charges of money laundering and internet fraud. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed an 11-count charge against the singer on May 20, 2019, and he has since pleaded not guilty and was released on bail.

The court admitted a compact disc (CD) in evidence, which contained expert analysis of the contents of an iPhone allegedly belonging to Naira Marley.

According to the EFCC, some of the credit cards found in Marley’s residence bore fictitious names, which were used for internet scams. Nigerians await to see the outcome of the trial.

In the final part, Biztellers looks at celebrities in Nollywood who, like their music industry counterparts, have been mired in drug and fraud scandals.