In Nigeria, security officials are reporting that 22 people have been killed in an armed attack in the nation's Plateau state. 14 others were injured when a convoy of five buses ferrying Muslim followers was ambushed along Rukuba road in Jos. The victims were heading to Ikare town in Ondo state after attending prayers in Bauchi state. Authorities say they have arrested six suspects in connection with the attack. CGTN spoke to Phil Ihaza in Abuja for more details on this story.
It is one of the most anticipated Nollywood films of all time and the trailer for King Of Boys: The Return Of The King was released Monday amid frenzy from fans of the crime and political thriller, who call themselves the KOB Army.
The seven-part project is Netflix's first Original Series from Nigeria and a sequel to the highly acclaimed 2018 King of Boys movie directed by leading director Kemi Adetiba.
Fans can now take a peek at what to expect, as formidable businesswoman Eniola Salami, played by Nollywood veteran Sola Sobowale, returns to Nigeria after a five-year exile eager to mete out blood-curdling punishments to her adversaries.
Following the success of the first installation, which made over N450 million ($1M) at the box office, Adetiba announced a sequel was in the works.
After a two-year wait, she revealed that the sequel initially intended to be a movie will be a Netflix Original limited series.
The KOB Army
The KOB Army has shown immense support for the franchise since the first movie, with fans making plans for viewing parties and special outfits when it premieres on August 27 on Netflix.
As the release day for the sequel draws nearer, the anticipation runs high as many wait with bated breath to see The Return Of The King. But fans are not the only ones eager; Adetiba describes the weight of the expectation as "awaiting a report card for the last year and a half of my life."
"My anxiety these days ranges from numb to severe...so I too am on tenterhooks, she says. "But I'm mostly absolutely thrilled by the love and support of the KOB ARMY. It's been so overwhelming. The massive anticipation simply shows us how well-loved KOB 1 is."
The King of Boys has been a stand-out movie for modern Nollywood. It was the sophomore film by Adetiba, whose directorial debut, The Wedding Party, was the unopposed Nollywood movie of the year 2016, being the highest-grossing film until January 2021 and spotlighting Adetiba, who already made her mark in the music and television industry, as a filmmaker of note.
The new installment will see old characters from the original, including actor Toni Tones, who reprises her role as a young Eniola Salami and musician Reminisce as Makanaki.
It also introduces new characters who have a bone to pick with Salami. Among them are seasoned actors Nse Ikpe-Etim and Nollywood heartthrob Richard Mofe Damijo.
King of Boys is a departure from the cheery, bright romcom of The Wedding Party into the dark crime-filled world of Eniola Salami, whose quest for power leaves a trail of dead bodies in her wake.
It was a wager which paid off in an industry known of late for primarily producing comedies to meet the audience's demand. Of the top 10 highest-grossing Nollywood movies, King of Boys is the sole thriller on the list.
Trusting the audience
Adetiba says the successful outing taught her not to cage her audience.
"I remember once in film school, an instructor said, 'If you treat your audience as if they were intelligent, they'll love you for it,'" she says.
"Yes, I was told that the audience wasn't ready for a film like KOB." Still, Adetiba and her brother, Remi Adetiba, who co-produces the franchise, persisted in bringing the project to light.
"Running on blind faith, we were all, "Go Big Or Go Home." It was our very own 'Do It Afraid' moment, but we jumped in the deep end, and our amazing audience, aka KOB ARMY, thanked us with their massive support. Just as my instructor said."
Not only was the genre a deviation from the norm in modern Nollywood, but her lead figure was complex in a way that is rarely done in the industry, where characters are usually portrayed as either good or evil.
Adetiba says it was vital for her to highlight this complexity because it mirrors real life.
"I love my characters to be relatable...There are many facets to you and I. Understanding this then creating a character that is one-dimensional is an injustice."
"So when I'm creating a character like Eniola Salami ... I'm interested in who s(he) is to all those different people. In Eniola's life, we have her family, those she encounters in everyday life, her legit business customers, then her interactions... in the 'underworld.'"
Adetiba says the production has been a real labor of love and promises a great time.
"We threw everything into this production... including the kitchen sink. We gave everything we had, so it's a product of REAL love, blood, sweat and tears. Most important of all, it's a great story."
By Anita Patrick
Related stories: Netflix involvement in NollywoodNigerian President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law an oil overhaul bill that has been in the works for nearly two decades, a presidential spokesman said on Monday.
The package overhauls nearly every aspect of the country's oil and gas production. The legislature cleared it for his signature last month.
The bill has been in the works since the early 2000s, but the sensitivity of potential changes affecting Nigeria's key source of revenue and foreign exchange has undermined all previous attempts at an overhaul.
Major fuel marketers and other observers had been alarmed by a provision that they said could give Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, an effective monopoly on fuel sales in Nigeria while the communities where oil and gas is produced had pressed for a larger share of oil money.
Analysts say the bill's approval this year was essential to attracting a shrinking pool of capital for fossil fuel development.
Amendments to the package allowed a series of concessions for oil companies to lure investment.
Reporting by Libby George, Tife Owolabi and Felix Onuah Editing by David Goodman
Gunmen killed a police officer and six employees of a Nigerian oil and gas services contractor during an attack on buses transporting workers to a Shell project site in the southeastern state of Imo, police said on Tuesday.
Attacks on oil and gas facilities have long been a problem in Nigeria, where the multi-billion dollar industry sits alongside impoverished communities that have seen little benefit from it. In this case, the motive was unclear.
The Nigerian arm of Shell, SPDC, confirmed that unknown gunmen had attacked a convoy of buses taking staff of its contractor, Lee Engineering, to its Assa North Gas development project site in the Ohaji area of Imo State on Monday morning.
"We have since shut down the project site while the incident has been reported to the police for investigation. SPDC is working with the contractor and supporting the police through a thorough investigation of the incident and to prevent a recurrence," it said in a statement.
Imo State police spokesman Michael Abattam said efforts were ongoing to arrest the perpetrators.
"The command has put in measures to guard the workers in the area since it is prone to attack," he said.
Lee Engineering could not be reached for comment.
The company is involved in the installation and construction of a gas primary treatment facility and the supply of a gas turbine generators and a waste heat recovery system, according to its website.
Nigeria is struggling with a rise in different types of violence. Kidnappings for ransom and armed robberies are rife, as is armed conflict between herders and farmers and between certain communities. In the northeast, 12 years of war between Islamist insurgents and government forces have killed 350,000 people, according to a U.N. estimate.
The oil and gas industry, located in the Niger Delta in the south of the country and offshore in the Gulf of Guinea, has been a focal point for violence for several decades. The region has a history of kidnappings, inter-communal conflicts, armed insurgency, piracy and oil smuggling.
Reporting by Tife Owolabi and Libby George, writing by Estelle Shirbon, editing by Giles Elgood
With the Taliban's swift takeover in Afghanistan, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari this week warned that the "war on terror" is not over but is shifting to Africa. Writing in the Financial Times newspaper, Buhari said Africa needs more than U.S. military assistance to defeat terrorism – it needs investment.
The Nigerian president warned in his opinion piece that the U.S. departure from Afghanistan did not mean the so-called war on terror was winding down. He said said the threat is merely shifting to a new frontline - in Africa.
He cited the rising threat of terrorist groups in Africa, from Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Sahel region to al-Shabab in Somalia and a rising insurgency in Mozambique.
But Buhari lamented that Western allies, “bruised by their Middle East and Afghan experiences,” were not prioritizing Africa.
The president's spokespeople could not be immediately reached for comment.
But expert Kabiru Adamu of Beacon Security agrees with the president's opinion.
"It is very likely that the developments in Afghanistan could definitely spur terrorist groups within Africa. It will embolden them, it will make them look at the bigger picture, which is the fact that resilience and a continuation of their efforts could lead to victory," Adamu said.
But while Buhari praised U.S. airstrikes in July against al-Shabab in Somalia, he emphasized that U.S. military forces on the ground in Africa is not what is needed.
He said what Africa needs most is U.S. investment in infrastructure to help provide jobs and economic opportunities for the rapidly growing population.
The Nigerian president said that Africa’s population has nearly doubled since 2001, the start of the U.S.-led war on terror.
And he conceded that Nigeria’s own home-grown terror group, Boko Haram, was first agitated by lack of opportunities.
Buhari also noted the recent attacks in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado region are centered around a profitable natural gas project that provided few jobs for locals.
But founder of the Global Sentinel security magazine, Senator Iroegbu, says that Africa’s terrorist groups are not driven by economics alone.
"You know, there's a subtle competition among these jihadist groups to outdo each other. Since Taliban has recorded this success, other like the al-Qaida, ISIS, may try to also show their own hands," Iroegbu said.
In his opinion piece, Buhari wrote if Afghanistan taught us a lesson, it was that although sheer force can blunt terror, removal of that force can cause the threat to return.
Nigeria has been fighting Boko Haram since 2009, with the conflict spilling into neighboring Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
More than 30,000 people are estimated to have been killed and millions displaced in the conflict.
African nations have been working together more to fight insurgents, from the G-5 Sahel to the Southern African Development Community’s troops sent, for the first time in July, to Mozambique.
But ultimately, wrote Buhari, Africans need not swords but plowshares to defeat terror.
The boots they need on the ground, he said, are those of constructors, not the military.
By Timothy Obiezu
