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One of Nollywood's most popular actors, Nkem Owoh, had a bitter experience in the hands of the police in The Netherlands last weekend after they stormed the venue of his musical show in Amsterdam and whisked him away alongside over 200 Nigerians.
One of Nollywood's most popular actors, Nkem Owoh, had a bitter experience in the hands of the police in The Netherlands last weekend after they stormed the venue of his musical show in Amsterdam and whisked him away alongside over 200 Nigerians.
Our source informed that no fewer than 70 of the Nigerians who did not have valid papers in the country have been deported as a result of the raid.
But Owoh, who is better known in the make-believe business as Osuofia, was said to have been arrested over his popular song, ‘I Go Chop Your Dollar.'
The song, which had earlier been banned in Nigeria by both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), our source said, was used to promote the show in Amsterdam, an action that reportedly infuriated the security operatives.
‘I Go Chop Your Dollar' dwells on the tricks Nigerian fraudsters, known as 419, use in duping unsuspecting Westerners of huge sums of money in foreign currency.
The Netherlands police were said to have stormed the venue of the show in a helicopter about 2a.m and arrested practically everybody at the venue.
We gathered that the show attracted a large number of Nigerians living in the central European country and both the police and immigration authorities that had been on the trial of illegal immigrants, especially from Nigeria, saw it as an opportunity to rid them off their society.
"Over 200 of them (Nigerians) were arrested that night. It was a big haul; they came with helicopter and cars and circled the whole area. As I speak with you, over 70 of those apprehended that night have been deported for possession of expired or fake immigration papers.
"Osuofia was also whisked away but was released hours after," the source said.
The incident is said to be threatening a similar show featuring two Nigerian comedians, taking place this weekend in the country, as Nigerians, who are target audience, may not attend for fear of being apprehended by the immigration authorities.
"You know that most of the people that attend our comedians' show abroad are Nigerians and a handful of continental people. But with this incident, I don't think anybody will be willing to show up at such shows," our source predicted.
President of the Actors' Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Ejike Asiegbu, however said he was not aware of the arrest, stressing that if is true, the Nigerian Embassy in the Netherlands was capable of handling it and that Nkem Owoh is a respectable member of the AGN and a worthy ambassador of the country's entertainment industry.
"I am not aware of the incident. But I can assure that the Nigerian ambassador to the country would handle the issue as he deems appropriate because I know Nkem Owoh very well. I can vouch for him as a good ambassador of the entertainment industry in Nigeria and he would not do anything that will soil the reputation he has built over the years," Asiegbu said on phone.