Ladipo Kidnappers: AGN, Kanayo dissociate selves from slain filmmaker, actors

On Thursday, the Lagos Police Command’s Special Squad One Team killed nine members of a notorious kidnapping gang during an operation in Ladipo, Mushin, allegedly plotted to abduct wealthy individuals in the state.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, said that four AK-47 rifles, four locally made semiautomatic pistols, nine AK-47 magazines, three walkie-talkies, and two operational vehicles, a black Toyota 4Runner and a blue Lexus RX350, were recovered from the suspects.

Mr Hundeyin, speaking at the command headquarters in Lagos, revealed that investigations were underway to apprehend any fleeing suspects.

He, however, did not reveal the identities of the slain kidnappers, and when contacted, Mr Hundeyin told our reporter ‘‘I cannot confirm that yet,’’ referring to the identities.

A few days after the news went viral, a filmmaker and actor, Stanley Nwoko, aka Stanley Ontop, posted photos of a movie producer and CEO of Ason-Rich Movie Production, Henry Odenigbo, whom he alleged was the ‘‘ringleader’’ of the kidnap gang, killed in the shootout.

His post read, “Dear @princehenryodenigbo, why did you die so quickly? We would have made you die slowly; we would have disgraced you very well before you died. But all the same, I wish you death after death. You came to Nollywood with your cursed money, and now you have given Nollywood a terrible name. The producer is also an actor self. Kingpin of kidnapper. May your wicked soul never rest in peace. Evil person.

“These are the pictures of the kidnapper Nollywood producer who was killed on Thursday. This is his handle @princehenryodenigbo. You can wish him more death after death.”

In a subsequent post, Stanley Ontop, based in Asaba, Delta State, urged those who had subscribed to the Odenigbo’s YouTube channel to unsubscribe. He alleged the producer’s movies were made with kidnapping proceeds.

Henry Odenigbo

This newspaper’s checks revealed that in 2024 alone, Odenigbo’s company, Ason-Rich Movie Production, produced over ten films, including ‘Born in the Ghetto’, ‘Love At The Pool’, ‘My Half’, ‘Little Top Up’, ‘Regards for Love’, ‘Clue Girl’, ‘Blind Blood’, ‘To Forgive’, and ‘Bethlehem’.

The filmmaker worked with famous Nollywood actors, such as Yul Edochie, Kelvin Ikeduba, and Eve Esin. As an actor, he portrayed bad-boy roles and would wield guns in movies, as seen in one of his most recent roles, Blind Blood, as posted on 26 April.

On 16 March, Nollywood Indigenous Filmmakers Of Nigeria (NIFMON) awarded him the ‘Best Filmmaker in Port Harcourt’ and weeks after, on 31 March, E-flex named him Nolly TV’s Best Grassroot Filmmaker for 2024/2025.

On 3 February, he held an audition for his Ason-Rich Movie Production in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

They’re not our members-AGN

The Chairman of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Rivers State Chapter, Osuwa Chigozie, swiftly responded to the allegations, dissociating the group from the filmmaker, Odenigbo, and three other persons who are also film practitioners.

The Guild, in a statement, said the three persons who died in the shootout with the police at Ladipo on Thursday were not members.

The statement read: “The Rivers State chapter of the Actors Guild of Nigeria at this moment disclaims any affiliation with the individuals who tragically lost their lives in a recent robbery incident in Lagos. Specifically, Prince Henry Asonna (Executive Producer of Aso Rich), Angel Emanuzo (Associate Producer), Chris Ahaneku (Logistics Manager-Aso Rich), and Jerry Eze (Camera Assistant) were not members of our guild. They were not part of our organisation.

‘‘They have never been associated with our guild events and are not on our register. They were not affiliated with us to the best of my knowledge, and we condemn any false associations and news making the rounds that AGN members from Rivers State were involved in the kidnapping.”

Actor Kanayo O. Kanayo also cautioned the public on his Instagram page against referring to the suspected kidnapper as a Nollywood movie producer.

He expressed concerns that individuals are leaving their trades and finding Nollywood a fertile ground to disguise their activities.

His post partly reads: “We must begin to identify who an actor and a producer is. While I commend the Nigerian police for making our Lagos safe, bloggers and influencers, please be mindful of those you refer to as Nollywood producers and actors. It affects some of us. We need to investigate. It is beginning to tarnish the reputation of those who practice and depend on this industry.”

More disclaimers

Similarly, AGN’s Financial Secretary, Emeka Duru, told this newspaper on Wednesday that none of the slain kidnappers were members of the guild.

Mr Duru added that crediting the kidnappers to Nollywood because they made a movie is not doing justice to the industry.

“They didn’t belong to any organisation in Nollywood. They just came with their ill-gotten money and hired actors. An actor is not supposed to wake up and start asking you where you get your money from before he works for you. The people who were killed were (not) members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria. No soul has any business with the Actors Guild of Nigeria’s Rivers State chapter.

“The funniest thing about it was that the one they call the producer, the ringleader, is not a member of the Association of Movie Producers. They said the one who is an actor, not a AGN member. The one that they said is a GOP is not a member of the Cinematography Association of Nigeria. The associate producer is not even an Association of Movie Producers member. So, none of them. Yes, they have produced movies; anybody can wake up because of how things are in our country. Most of us don’t even know. Some of the associations do not even check what is going on. Who is the member that is producing the movie? They are not checking that. So the truth is that this guy produced a movie in Asaba, as I heard, and the guy acted in his movie because they all worked together.”

He added that the fast-rising actor and others credited to Nollywood only acted in Odenigbo’s movies and had yet to work in any other production in Nigeria.

“We don’t even know; maybe they aimed to start getting actors closer to them, and then they would start kidnapping them. We have been praying in Nollywood, asking God to remove every bad obstacle coming our way. Even the AGN in Port Harcourt did a prayer the week those guys were arrested and killed,” Mr Duru added.

AGN’s next line of action

Mr Duru said the guild is doing everything to remove bad eggs from the industry through a thorough screening and other established plans.

He noted, “We usually screen candidates before they become members of the Guild. However, because you can’t honestly know someone’s intentions, they present themselves and their credentials, and you have to believe them as it’s your word against theirs.

“Only when incidents like this occur do you discover someone’s true nature. So the Guild is doing everything possible to ensure that these issues are addressed and that such individuals are not part of the production.”