The emergence of Nollywood in the early 1990s marked a cultural turning point in Nigeria. It created a new platform for telling local stories in local languages, outside the constraints of state-controlled media and foreign imports. One of the genres that flourished in this video-film revolution was the dramatisation of criminal figures, particularly armed robbers whose notoriety had been seared into public memory through trials, executions, and media coverage.
The stories of Lawrence Anini, executed in 1986, and Ishola Oyenusi, executed in 1971, became recurring cinematic subjects. Their adaptation into film reflected not only audience appetite for dramatic crime narratives but also Nigeria’s deeper struggles with corruption, inequality, and the legacies of military rule. Nollywood, by reworking these figures into melodramatic tales, shaped collective memory of crime while balancing entertainment with social commentary.
The Birth of Nollywood
Nollywood emerged from the home-video boom of the early 1990s. Kenneth Nnebue’s Living in Bondage (1992) is widely credited as the pioneering feature that demonstrated the viability of locally produced, straight-to-video films. The story of ritual wealth acquisition resonated with audiences, proving that Nigerian viewers wanted narratives rooted in their own cultural and linguistic contexts.
The industry’s economic model, low budgets, fast production cycles, and mass distribution through open markets and bus parks, made crime stories particularly profitable. These stories provided spectacle, suspense, and moral lessons that translated easily across Nigeria’s diverse audiences.
Crime Figures in Public Memory
By the time Nollywood took shape, the stories of certain notorious criminals were already etched in Nigerian memory.
- Ishola Oyenusi, executed publicly in 1971 at Lagos Bar Beach, had been labelled “Doctor Robber” by the press. Reports emphasised his flamboyant lifestyle, his reputed charm, and his violent methods. His public execution was attended by thousands and heavily publicised.
- Lawrence Anini, the so-called “Anini the Law,” terrorised Bendel State in the mid-1980s. His gang carried out armed robberies, hijackings, and murders, frequently eluding capture. Arrested in 1986 after months of national panic, he was tried and executed in 1987. His crimes and trial received daily newspaper coverage, making his name synonymous with violent crime.
When Nollywood filmmakers revisited these figures in the 1990s and 2000s, they were building on an existing cultural archive of fear, rumour, and fascination.
Nollywood’s Portrayals of Robbery Legends
Lawrence Anini on Screen
Several Nollywood productions in the 1990s and 2000s dramatised Anini’s career. Films such as The Master (mid-1990s) and later Anini (2006) sought to capture his story. These films often emphasised structural causes, poverty, unemployment, and corruption, as forces driving individuals into crime. While sensationalist in presentation, they reflected broader public debates about justice and inequality in Nigeria.
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These retellings did not create Anini’s legend; rather, they re-mediated a story already well known. For younger Nigerians who had not lived through the 1980s, Nollywood became the main way of encountering the Anini story.
Ishola Oyenusi Revived
In the 2000s, Nollywood directors turned to Oyenusi’s tale, reconstructing 1970s Lagos through sets, costumes, and cars to dramatise his rise and fall. Some versions presented him as stylish and calculating, others as brutal and reckless. This inconsistency reflects both the fragmentary nature of the historical record and the needs of melodrama. What remained constant was the framing of Oyenusi as a figure whose crimes were spectacular enough to symbolise broader social decay.
Oral Tradition and the Anti-Hero Archetype
Nigerian culture has long valued narratives of tricksters and rebels who challenged unjust authority. Folklore across ethnic groups contains characters who bend or break rules in order to survive or outwit oppressive powers. Nollywood crime dramas drew on this reservoir of cultural archetypes, allowing figures such as Anini or Oyenusi to be cast not only as villains but also as tragic anti-heroes.
Commerce, Repetition, and Market Demand
The repetition of robbery stories was not purely artistic. In Nollywood’s fast-moving market, once a theme proved profitable it was rapidly reproduced. Crime films offered reliable returns because they combined action, moral drama, and spectacle. For audiences in motor parks, markets, and homes across Nigeria, these films provided catharsis and conversation around crime and justice.
Ambiguities of Moral Storytelling
Most Nollywood crime films ended with the criminal’s downfall, often through police capture or execution, signalling a moral conclusion. Yet they simultaneously highlighted systemic issues, unemployment, corruption, state failure, that made crime appear understandable, if not justified. This dual message gave the films their cultural resonance: they condemned crime while using it as a vehicle for social critique.
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Influence and Misconceptions
Some law enforcement officials expressed concern that such films glamorised crime, but there is little historical evidence of direct causal links between Nollywood depictions and real-life criminal activity. What is clear is that Nollywood became a key site of memory. For many young Nigerians, cinematic representations shaped their knowledge of Anini and Oyenusi more than newspapers or official records.
From Video to Digital and Global Platforms
By the mid-2000s, Nollywood had begun transitioning to digital production, and in the 2010s, streaming platforms such as Netflix carried Nigerian crime dramas to global audiences. International viewers often consumed these stories without context, mistaking them for straightforward history rather than hybridised myth and melodrama. This global reach increased pressure on filmmakers to balance entertainment with historical responsibility.
New Directions: Documentary and Historical Responsibility
Recent Nigerian filmmakers have begun experimenting with documentary or docudrama formats, incorporating interviews, archival footage, and testimonies. This trend reflects a growing awareness of the responsibility involved in shaping collective memory of violent episodes. By moving closer to documentary evidence, Nollywood is gradually shifting from pure myth-making toward a more layered form of cultural historiography.
Conclusion
Nollywood’s engagement with robbery legends such as Anini and Oyenusi demonstrates the industry’s dual role as entertainer and cultural historian. While these films were commercial products designed to sell in markets, they also functioned as popular historiography, shaping how Nigerians remember figures of crime and the conditions that produced them.
Rather than creating legends, Nollywood reinterpreted existing ones, embedding them in a moral and cultural framework that oscillated between condemnation and sympathy. In doing so, the industry provided a mirror of Nigerian society’s struggles with justice, inequality, and authority.
As Nollywood continues to evolve, the challenge remains to balance commercial appeal with historical accuracy, a balance that carries profound implications for how future generations will understand Nigeria’s past.
Author’s Note
This article explored how Nollywood, since its rise in the early 1990s, reimagined the stories of notorious figures like Lawrence Anini and Ishola Oyenusi. By turning their lives into melodramatic crime films, the industry preserved public memory of violent crime while also commenting on corruption, inequality, and state failure in Nigeria.
The take-home lesson is that Nollywood has never been just entertainment. It serves as a cultural historian, shaping how generations remember the past, blending fear, fascination, and moral lessons. Yet, the challenge for the future is ensuring that such storytelling balances market appeal with historical accuracy, because what audiences watch often becomes what they remember.
References
- Okome, Onookome. Nollywood: Spectatorship, Audience and the Sites of Consumption. Postcolonial Text, 2007.
- Igbinovia, P. E. “Lawrence Anini: Armed Robbery and State Response in Nigeria.” International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 1990s.
- Adejunmobi, Moradewun. Nollywood and African Cinema. Routledge, 2015.
