Entertainment
Drugs And Fraud: The Ugly Underbelly Of Nigeria’s Entertainment Industry(Part 2)
By Funmilayo Olusanya
In this second part, Biztellers takes a look at Nollywood celebrities who have been mired in drug and fraud allegations over the years.
In the first part, Biztellers looked at some prominent musicians who have been mired in rumors of drug peddling and fraud.
BABA SUWE
Another notable personality, Nollywood comic actor, Babatunde Omidina better known as Baba Suwe was arrested in 2011, at the Murtala Mohammad International Airport in Lagos. He was taken into custody by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), after the airport’s scanning engine revealed traces of ingested wraps of cocaine in his belly.
The accusation lead to a three-week spectacle in which Nigerian officials, and the entire country, kept tabs on the detained Baba Suwe’s bowel movements — looking out for discharged bags of cocaine. The bags never came.
The accusations against Suwe were serious, and the potential consequences dire. If convicted, he could have faced a lengthy prison sentence, and his reputation as a beloved actor and comedian could have been permanently tarnished.
The case garnered significant attention from the media and the public, with many people expressing their support for Baba Suwe and demanding that he be treated fairly.
Despite the intense scrutiny, however, no evidence of drug use was ever found. The bags of cocaine that the authorities claimed Baba Suwe had swallowed never materialized, and the actor himself maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal. In the end, he was released without charge, after three weeks in detention but the damage had already been done.
Upon his release, the actor charged NDLEA to court, for unlawful detention and public humiliation among others. The presiding Judge, who heard the case, ruled that the actor be paid the sum of 25 million Naira in damages, and also tender a public apology to repair the reputational damage done to the actor.
However, till date, NDLEA is yet to obey the court judgment and pay the actor the 25 million Naira sum. They’ve continuously appealed the case.
The actor, who battled chronic diabetes attributed his predicament to the fate he suffered during his illegal detention in 2011, amid these battle, Baba Suwe gave up the ghost on the 22nd of November 2021.
UCHE ODOPUTA
Uche Odoputa is another top Nigerian entertainer with a history of drug-related crime. In fact, unlike Baba Suwe’s case, Odoputa was actually convicted of cocaine trafficking.
The popular actor was arrested by men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos. He was taken into custody while he was about boarding a flight to the UK. In his possession was 1.34kg of cocaine, which led to his arrest.
Odoputa was charged to court and was subsequently sentenced to prison on a 2-year term. In his words, “greed and desperation forced his hands and pushed him into drug trafficking”.
While the actor was a relatively prominent upcoming actor prior to his conviction, he hasn’t been able to forge his way up the ladder. According to the actor, most of his former colleagues severed ties with him after his incarceration, with the exception of Mr. Ibu, Amaka Igwe and a few others.
AKINWANDE HASSANAT
The most popular drug trafficking story concerning a Nigerian entertainer is probably the conviction of popular Yoruba actress Hassanat Akinwande, who is fondly called Yetunde Wunmi by her admirers.
The veteran Yoruba actress was taken into custody at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport by men of the NDLEA. She was caught by the airport’s electronic scanner, which revealed traces of foreign objects in her stomach. This drew the attention of the drug enforcement officers at the scene, and the actress was subsequently taken into custody, where she eventually excreted ingested cocaine wraps, numbering in excess of 90.
Consequent to this, the actress was charged to court and was eventually sentenced to 2-year imprisonment, with an option of a 1 million Naira fine. The lenient penalty was allegedly attributed to the “humane remorse” that the actress showed during her trial. As gathered, the actress reportedly bursted into tears as she was arraigned before the judge, who in turn, felt pity for her.
Yetunte Wunmi, as the actress is popularly called, somehow managed to get a light sentence for a rather serious crime. However, the incident left an indelible mark on her reputation, which she is yet to, and may never, recover from.
SUNDAY JOSHUA
On January 11, 2021, the NDLEA arrested a fast-growing skit maker, Sunday Joshua, known simply as ‘De General’, after a raid at his residence at Orchid Estate, Lekki area of Lagos State.
He was immediately charged to court on three counts of trafficking tramadol and cannabis Sativa and convicted of the charges by a federal high court in Lagos after pleading guilty to possessing substances found in his home.
However, the court said the volume of substance was too minimal for a sentence and cautioned him to “go and sin no more.”
Many continue to believe that the Nigerian entertainment industry is fueled mostly by ill gotten wealth and the arrest of Huspuppi, a socialite who has been seen with a lot of celebrities and was believed to be silently sponsoring a lot of musicians.
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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