Funke Akindele
People watch movies in the comfort of their homes, theatre or hotel chalettes without a thought about the strait, experienced by the filmmakers while they worked at them. At times, some of these motion pictures are dismissed by viewers as ‘trash’.
Funke Akindele, Nollywood thespian and movie producer, has experienced the very downside of making films in her career and has to narrate her ordeal following an attack by armed robbers who forced themselves into a Lagos hotel she and her colleagues lodged about nine years ago during a movie project.
Speaking of the incident on Friday during an Instagram live session on her experience filming ‘Omo Ghetto’, Akindele said Bimbo Thomas, a long-time friend who was also at the hotel, had risked her own life to save her (Akindele) from the robbery.
Said Akindele: “I have been friends with Bimbo and Eniola Badmus for a long time. Nine years ago, we were robbed while filming the second part of ‘Omo Ghetto’. Eniola was meant to join me in my hotel but she refused
“I was with Bimbo that night after begging her I couldn’t sleep alone. The robbers came into the hotel, which had two wings. They robbed the first wing. One of the robbers who knew I was in the hotel started banging on my door.
“However, he initially couldn’t break in and Bimbo lifted the bed so I could hide under it. I was frightened but she said, ‘You have to hide because nothing must happen to you’ “.
Akindele said Bimbo had refused to respond when the armed men asked her where she was hiding at gunpoint.
Added she: “Bimbo, Joy Aiyegbeni, and I entered the bathroom and hid behind a shower curtain. The robber eventually broke in and asked for me. Bimbo didn’t say anything, then one of the robbers cocked his gun but she still did not talk.
“I came out and begged the robbers not to shoot. They were punching me; Bimbo kept saying they should leave me alone. Two days after the robbery, I asked her why she didn’t let the robbers know I was hiding in the bathroom.
“She said ‘If they (robbers) want to kill, it is better we die together. As for Chioma Akpotha, she and Kate Henshaw would fight for you all the way. Your problem becomes theirs’ ”.
‘Omo Ghetto’ is a 2010 Nigerian drama film directed by Abiodun Olarenwaju. The movie is based on the societal vices by a women-dominated gang, featuring such Nollywood heavyweights as Rachel Oniga, Taiwo Hassan, Yinka Quadri, Eniola Badmus and Ronke Ojo.
‘Omo Ghetto: The Saga’, the highly anticipated sequel to ‘Omo Ghetto’, is expected to debut in cinemas on December 25.
The film follows Lefty (Funke Akindele) and her friends, Nikky (Bimbo Thomas), Busty (Eniola Badmus) and Chummy Choko (Chioma Akpotha) in Askamaya Ghetto.
The film is Funke’s first directorial collaboration with JJC Skillz, her husband.
