Entertainment
Drugs And Fraud: The Ugly Underbelly Of Nigeria’s Entertainment Industry(Part 1)
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.
The Nigerian film industry has been thrown into mourning following the death of veteran Nollywood actor Francis Duru, who died at the age of 57 after a brief illness.
Duru’s family announced his death on Friday in a statement shared on the actor’s official Instagram page. The National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Abubakar Yakubu, also confirmed the development.
Born on July 27, 1969, Duru rose to prominence for his portrayal of Ahanna in Amaka Igwe’s 1995 film Rattlesnake, a role that helped establish him as a recognisable face in Nollywood.
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The actor featured in several other productions throughout his career, including Blood Money and Merry Men, earning recognition for his contributions to Nigerian film and television.
Over the years, Duru established himself as a veteran performer whose work contributed to the growth and development of the Nigerian entertainment industry.
His death comes months after he dismissed speculation about his health following the circulation of a video in June that raised concerns among fans.
Duru’s passing marks a loss for Nollywood, with colleagues, fans and other entertainment industry stakeholders expected to pay tribute to the actor and celebrate his contributions to Nigerian cinema.
Nigerian ceramic sculptor and artist, Chris Onaivi Ekuafeh, has opened Unity Forged in Clay, a solo exhibition that draws on clay, culture and personal experience to explore one of humanity’s enduring questions, “How can people remain different and still belong together?”
The exhibition opened on Saturday, September 26, at Quintessence Gallery, Victoria Island, Lagos, and continues until October 10, 2026.
Featuring 13 ceramic works, Unity Forged in Clay is Ekuafeh’s first solo exhibition on Nigerian soil and follows his first solo show in China in 2025, after a residency at the Taoxichuan Arts Centre in Jingdezhen, one of the world’s historic centres of ceramic art. At the heart of the exhibition are two deceptively simple questions: What is unity? And are we united as a people?
Ekuafeh, however, thinks unity does not necessarily have to demand uniformity. “Unity, for me, is not sameness,” he said. The idea is reflected throughout a body of work in which distinct forms, patterns, faces and cultural references coexist while retaining their individual character. “Unity unveils to me bits and pieces of different entities coming together to achieve a thing,” he said.
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Works in the exhibition include Identity, Where We Connect, What the Fire Kept and Kin, with titles across English, Yoruba and Ekuafeh’s native Igarra language. The choice of language, like the forms themselves, is driven by the story and meaning of each piece rather than by a single cultural frame.
The works reflect a creative journey formed across several Nigerian environments and traditions. Born in Kano and trained at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he studied Industrial Design with a specialisation in ceramics, Ekuafeh says his exposure to northern Nigerian architecture and material culture first awakened his fascination with clay.
The geometric patterns associated with northern architecture continue to appear in his work, while the distinctive faces he carves into some of his pieces draw from his Edo heritage. Lagos, where he now lives and works, has added another layer to the practice, exposing him to contemporary artistic influences and encouraging an increasingly research-driven approach. The result is an artistic vocabulary in which culture, identity, spirituality, emotion, community and human connection repeatedly intersect.
Ekuafeh said clay is more than a convenient artistic medium. His relationship with the material begins from sourcing from the earth, digging, preparing and processing the clay before shaping it into finished work. That physical process has become part of his understanding of both creativity and human experience.
The work captures that connection through scenes of the artist working directly with clay – pressing, shaping, carving and building – alongside reflections on diversity, fracture, belonging and the continuous work required to sustain unity. Rather than provide predetermined answers, Unity Forged in Clay invites viewers to arrive at their own.
Individual works combine sculptural forms with recurring markings, human features and patterns that encourage closer looking. Some begin with sketches and carefully developed ideas; others evolve more organically as Ekuafeh works with the material, allowing the form to develop alongside the thought that inspired it.
This tension between intention and discovery is central to his practice. Clay becomes both material and collaborator. And the exhibition is a visible expression of the process. Unity Forged in Clay is an opportunity to bring years of experimentation, cultural inquiry and technical practice into a focused solo presentation before returning to the studio to develop the next body of work, Ekuafeh said.
Beyond that, however, Unity Forged in Clay leaves its larger question with the audience. “If different particles of earth can be worked, fired and brought together without losing the marks that make each form distinctive, what might that suggest about people, communities and society?”
Photo Caption: From Left, Ofuma Agali, Business Lead, The Candella & Company; Saheedat Lawal, Gallery Supervisor, Quintessence Gallery; and Chris Ekuafeh; at Ekuafeh’s ‘Unity Forged in Clay’ exhibition, held at Quintessence Gallery, Victoria Island, Lagos, Saturday, 26 September 2026
Veteran Nigerian actor and film executive, Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, popularly known as Olu Jacobs, has died at the age of 84.
His death was announced by his son, Olusoji Jacobs, in a statement shared on Instagram on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
The family described the late actor as “The Lion of Lufodo” and appealed to bloggers and social media influencers to respect their privacy as they mourned his passing.
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“It is with gratitude to God for a life well lived and fought, that we announce the passing of our dear husband, father, grandfather and uncle. The Lion of Lufodo,” the statement read.
The family identified him as Oludotun Baiyewun Jacobs, MFR, and gave his dates as July 11, 1942, to September 16, 2026.
Jacobs was one of Nigeria’s most recognised veteran actors, with a career spanning theatre, television and film.
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