Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, Commends Immigration Officer for Rejecting N10 Million Bribe from Fleeing Ritualist

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, recently met with immigration officer Prince Orji Ugochukwu, who rejected a N10 million bribe offered by a suspected ritualist attempting to flee the country.

Governor Otti praised Officer Orji for his outstanding integrity and courage, describing him as a role model for public servants and a beacon of hope in Nigeria’s ongoing fight against corruption.

The suspect, identified as High Chief Levi Onyeka Obu AKA Ezeani was on the run after several decomposed bodies, including that of a pregnant woman, were discovered in a pit within his compound in Ezeagu, Enugu State.

While attempting to escape Nigeria through the Seme border, Chief Obu was intercepted at the Gbaji checkpoint by immigration officers led by Prince Orji Ugochukwu. In a desperate attempt to evade justice, he allegedly offered a N10 million bribe, which Officer Orji firmly rejected.

“The $100 million we invested in Iroko TV was a mistake. If I had another opportunity, I would not do it again.”

Jason Njoku shares his terrible, brutal experience running Iroko TV.

Let's read him:

STREAMING IN NIGERIA. DID THE MARKET WIN?

Iroko’s first funding was in August 2011; our mandate was to build a large streaming business in Nigeria.

Tiger Global believed that one of the largest growth areas would be online entertainment, and like most content, the winners would be local content in large domestic markets.

They invested $200 million in Netflix back in 2010 and then invested in IVI in Russia, YY in China, Netmovies in Brazil, and us in Nigeria.

With super-expensive data bundles and inelegant payment options (I remember waiting for Interswitch to enable us to integrate), our market took a while to mature. In most opportunities, you can be too early or too late; only in hindsight can you gauge when the best time to strike would be. iROKOtv was very early when we launched in 2011, but we were fortunate that there was a ready-made international market in the diaspora who were willing to pay and able to overcome any technical hurdles (payment/bandwidth/devices) to enable us to at least generate a sizable income.

We actually waited until 2015 (four years post-launch), building the product, securing a sizable content library, and assembling a team to attempt to take on Nigeria and Africa. Between the revenues we generated and the venture capital we raised ($35 million) over the first ten years, we easily spent $100 million trying to win.

But we weren’t winning; we weren’t really losing either. We were just there, in full survival mode, operating in the toughest conditions possible. Streaming, even domestically, is a scale game.

Africa wasn’t immune to those costs. It’s incredibly expensive across marketing, content, delivery, and product platforms. Our largest, most serious competitors were Showmax, Netflix, Amazon, and Iflix. Collectively, they easily invested $1 billion or more from 2015 to 2023.

During that period, we often had tense board meetings about why iROKOtv wasn’t succeeding; it was challenging to feel that all my hard work and dedication were constantly reduced to “you’re not doing enough”.

We have been, and remain, the most aggressive in trying to distribute content across Nigeria—deploying hundreds of manned kiosks, teams of outbound contact centre agents, creating agency networks, adjusting our product to prioritise Android downloads, and pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing.

At one point, it dawned on me, and I finally shot back in a board meeting: if iROKOtv was losing, could they point to someone who was beating us? In the startup world, that’s usually the outcome of underperformance.

You are simply being out-executed by a better-capitalised or higher-performing startup. In this case, there simply wasn’t anything anyone could point to to establish that.

So my simple assertion was that the market was winning. In 2019, we went out to fundraise; for the first time, we used a bank, Stanbic IBTP, to support that.

We were looking for $10-20 million to keep pushing into and across Africa with our outbound, agency, and kiosk models.

I believed my tales of survival would inspire the (primarily) PE investors that we were going to be the eventual winners in a brutal, long-fought civil streaming war. Instead, they all largely concluded that perhaps there was no market there, that the unit economics were simply not viable at any reasonable scale.

What they were all interested in was the ROK content, TV channels, and distribution business. It was straightforward (fewer than 30 employees), had clear revenue recognition (billion-dollar paid TV platforms – DStv, Multichoice, SKY, etc., with 3-5 year contracts in non-local currencies), and was amassing a sizable IP library funded by the same paid TV platforms. Once we separated out ROK, it was clear where the value lay in Iroko. It represented 80% of revenues and 25% of costs. EBITA margins of 35-40% were achieved without even realising it.

The outcome of that fundraise was the $25 million partial exit (Iroko sold her shares; Mrs Njoku remains a significant shareholder in the studio) to Vivendi/Canal+.

We closed in July 2019.

Before the end of 2019, we had distributed $5 million as a special dividend and were primed to take on the world.

Then COVID-19 happened. Streaming temporarily boomed in the West (our North American business tripled in subscriber growth), while Nigeria closed borders and grappled with peculiar economic principles (devaluations, FX windows, etc.).

The local market in Nigeria simply collapsed. We saw it and stubbornly decided to keep investing and doubling down until we were all tapped out, having burnt through most of the post-exit capital. To save iROKOtv, we considered crowdfunding, an AIM LSE listing (you could raise $10-30 million easily back then) with relatively little revenue but a strong narrative.

In the end, we raised $1.1 million in convertible notes, then recapped the company a year later and paid it back.

In 2023, we finally accepted there was no market for paid premium services and exited Nigeria. We haven’t processed any Naira payments there in almost two years.

As I humbly survey the wreckage of the last 15 years of streaming in Nigeria and Africa, it’s clear our (then $2k GDP per capita) was too small to support even a $5/mo product. It’s clear this wasn’t even a question of capital.

Showmax alone continues to pour tens, if not hundreds, of millions to make it work. But the global giants tapped out last year; their costs (content and marketing) were clearly unsustainably high, and their product needed to be localised to make sense and actually work; it’s just not how platforms sustainably scale.

So I wasn’t surprised when either Amazon or Netflix rolled back their considerable investments in Nigeria. $5/mo is a luxury I doubt even 250k can reliably afford in Nigeria.

You can see the impact of what GOtv and DStv are suffering at the hands of the market. It’s okay that we tried and failed. It’s okay that we accept the limitations in the domestic market we find ourselves in. Did it need $1B+ to figure this out?

Absolutely not. I believe, with my newfound knowledge, that iROKOtv could have reached the same conclusions with $5-10 million versus the $100 million+ we ended up investing.

In hindsight, streaming wasn’t the winning model for Nollywood in Nigeria. Content, channels, and distribution were.

With the economics that business had in 2018, we could have shut down iROKOtv and her $5 million/year in losses and either listed it or just had a fantastically profitable business.

But I was a believer and walked away from millions of dollars in personal liquidity to put it all in to build streaming in Africa.

My lessons were expensive, and that’s why I am so consistent in telling founders not to over-raise.

I am not surprised by the story of Obi from Kobo360; I lobbied him pre-$30m raise not to raise too much capital or later on to seek a merger with his nearest competitor whilst they were engaged in a brutal price war.

The unit economics and payment cycles were brutal, and capital wasn’t going to dramatically change the market dynamics, and it appeared that no one was really going to win that market. It’s only with deep, lived, and expensive experience that I can glance at unit economics coldly and get a feel for whether, with the usual macro turbulence, a startup has a better chance at long-term success.

Nigeria is currently a massive drag on the entire operating business of Multichoice. Their most recent H1 reports indicate.

Reminder that this is the largest pay platform in Africa, which is currently being acquired in a $2.8B deal.

"Your light, your voice, your spirit - Forever in our hearts" - Actress and model, Monalisa Stephen to be laid to rest on May 22.

The Lagos State Government has announced plans to phase out annual rent payments in favour of more flexible monthly and quarterly options.

The move aims to ease the financial burden on residents, especially low-income earners who struggle with large upfront rental costs.

Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, who revealed the initiative during the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing, said the initiative builds on the state’s ongoing efforts to make housing more affordable and accessible. He cited the earlier rent-to-own scheme, which allows beneficiaries to pay a five percent deposit and spread the remaining balance over 10 years, as a successful foundation for this new policy.

“That initiative was well-received, and its success encouraged us to explore new ways to reduce the pressure of yearly rent payments,” he said.

The commissioner stressed that the traditional annual rent model places an undue financial strain on many Lagosians. “We believe monthly or quarterly payment options will offer people more breathing room and reduce the stress of sourcing lump sums,” he noted.

He also confirmed that the government is engaging with landlords, property developers, and other stakeholders to address potential challenges, including enforcement and secure payment tracking.

“There are issues to resolve — landlord cooperation, payment monitoring, and enforcement mechanisms,” he said. “But discussions are ongoing, and we are listening to all sides.”

A pilot phase of the new rent structure is expected to roll out in select areas of the state.

“This is not just policy on paper. We are making real progress. We understand what this means for many families, and we are determined to make it happen,” Akinderu-Fatai concluded.

Model, Chidimma Adetshina's mother appears in South African court on identity thɘft charges

The mother of Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Adetshina, Anabela Rungo appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates Court on Wednesday, 14 May 2025, facing charges of identity thɘft and v!olation of the Immigration Act.

A Heartbreaking Discovery: Kidnapping Den Uncovered in Imo State

Too many families in Igboland have suffered unimaginable pain, losing their loved ones to the hands of kidnappers. The recent discovery of a kidnapping camp at the boundary between Umuosinta Amuzi Obowo and Iheteafor-Ukwu Ahiazu Mbaise in Imo State has once again exposed the horrors many have endured in silence.

At this site, unmarked graves were found—silent witnesses to the fate of victims who never made it home. Some were reportedly murdered even after their families paid ransom, while others were killed outright. Scattered among the graves were stolen vehicles—Toyota Avalons, Range Rovers, Toyota Camrys, Lexus models—belonging to individuals whose fates were cruelly sealed by these criminals.

Reports indicate that this gang operates from Port Harcourt. After carrying out their evil acts in Imo State, they retreat there to hide, only to return and continue their reign of terror in the Obowo axis. Just this past Monday, witnesses say they came back to move two stolen cars, likely to sell them off.

This discovery is a painful reminder of the insecurity that plagues our land. But it is also a call to action. Our communities must stand together, and our authorities must act swiftly to dismantle these networks of terror. No family should have to endure the agony of losing a loved one in such a cruel manner.

Let’s not look away. Let’s demand justice.

#JusticeForVictims #EndKidnapping #SecureOurCommunities

Power Mike: The Nigerian Giant Who Took on the World

In the heart of Neni, Anambra State, a boy named Michael Okpara was born in August 1939. No one knew then that he would grow into one of Africa’s most celebrated wrestlers, earning the name Power Mike—a man whose strength and skill would bring pride to Nigeria and awe to the world.

Like many young men of his time, Power Mike left his village in 1952 for Onitsha, hoping to learn the ropes of business. But fate had a different plan. While in Onitsha, he stumbled upon the **** Tiger Boxing Club, where he trained as a middleweight boxer under the legendary **** Ihetu Tiger, a man who would become his role model. That was where the fire of combat sports was lit in his heart.

The Journey to Greatness

By 1961, Power Mike had begun touring Nigeria, showcasing his strength and fighting skills in places like Onitsha, Enugu, Aba, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Jos, and Kaduna. The crowds loved him. His name spread like wildfire, and his reputation as a fierce fighter grew.

But he wasn’t done. In 1964, he took his talent to Ghana, defeating several opponents and earning the respect of wrestling fans across West Africa. Three years later, in 1967, he expanded his conquest to Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, before finally setting his sights on Europe, where the competition was tougher, the stage bigger, and the stakes higher.

It was in Sweden that he signed his first major contract in 1967, proving himself against some of the world's best fighters. From there, he moved to Greece, becoming a professional wrestler and taking down every opponent who stepped into the ring with him.

The Champion of Africa

Power Mike’s biggest moment came in 1970, when he returned to Africa and defeated Gambia’s Massambula, becoming the African Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. The whole continent celebrated him—he was a Nigerian hero, an African warrior, a champion who had made his people proud.

His victories didn’t stop there. In 1973, he took down Ali Baba of Lebanon and later humbled Johnny Kwango in Lagos, cementing his place as one of the greatest wrestlers Africa had ever produced.

Beyond the Ring

By 1976, Power Mike knew it was time to leave the ring, but he wasn’t walking away from wrestling entirely. Instead, he turned to promoting the sport internationally, helping other young African fighters find a place on the world stage.

Even though he left the ring, the legend of Power Mike never faded. His name echoed in songs, like the hit track by Okonkwo Asaa, which praised his strength and accomplishments.

A Legacy That Lives On

In 2004, at the age of 64, Power Mike passed away. But legends don’t die—they live on in stories, in memories, and in the hearts of those they inspired.

Power Mike wasn’t just a wrestler; he was a symbol of strength, resilience, and African pride. He showed the world that a boy from Neni could rise to global fame with sheer determination and unbreakable spirit. He remains one of Nigeria’s greatest sports icons, a true warrior who took on the world—and won.