Popular Nollywood actor, Kunle Afod, has recounted how a deadly robbery incident at a Lagos hotel exposed concerns over actors’ welfare and accountability within the Association of Nigerian Theatre Practitioners (ANTP).
Afod said the incident occurred at Moslado Hotel in Isolo, Lagos State, where he and other members of a film crew were staying while working on a movie.
According to the actor, the crew returned to the hotel around midnight after filming and woke up the following morning to find the premises surrounded by police officers.
The development followed the killing of the hotel receptionist, who was reportedly macheted to death during an overnight robbery.
Afod explained that other hotel workers had been locked inside a kitchen with transparent glass windows during the attack and were able to see the alleged assailants.
He said the suspects had lodged at the hotel for about a week, while he and his colleagues had also stayed there for a similar period.
Because of the similarity in their length of stay, Afod said the film crew was taken to the police station and questioned over the incident.
The actor recalled that the police eventually asked them to contact their industry bosses, who could verify their identities and establish that they were not involved in the robbery.
Afod said the crew contacted their bosses and was instructed to contribute money for the police. He added that they were also asked to contribute money for fuel after leaving the station.
The experience, he said, prompted him and other actors to question the purpose of the financial contributions they were making to ANTP and whether the association could provide assistance to members facing emergencies.
At the time, Afod said actors paid levies on film productions in addition to making monthly contributions to the association.
He estimated that about 40 films were being released every two weeks, with each production paying ₦10,000 to the association.
According to his calculation, the contributions amounted to about ₦400,000 every two weeks, ₦800,000 monthly and approximately ₦8 million over 10 months.
The actors subsequently questioned whether part of the funds could be used to support members who encountered emergencies or other difficult situations.
Afod said the association’s leadership explained that the funds were being used to maintain its office.
However, he said the explanation did not resolve the actors’ concerns about accountability and how members’ contributions were being utilised.
The disagreement eventually led to Afod and other practitioners leaving ANTP after the leadership told dissatisfied members that they were free to leave.
Afod, however, clarified that he was not the person who led the group out of the association.
He identified fellow actor Ibrahim Chatta as the person who led the actors out of ANTP.
Afod said:
“We were shooting in a hotel called Moslado in Isolo, Lagos State. We went to shoot, so we got back to our hotel rooms late, around 12 a.m. By daybreak, they banged on everyone’s doors. By the time we got downstairs, the police had surrounded everywhere, and they packed all of us and put us behind the counter.”
He added:
“What happened was that the receptionist at the hotel was macheted to death overnight. So, the robbers locked the rest of the hotel staff in a kitchen that had transparent glass while they were butchering the receptionist.”
Afod said the incident later became a turning point in the actors’ relationship with the association, particularly over questions concerning members’ financial contributions and welfare.
He stressed that although the ANTP leadership had explained that the funds were used to maintain its office, the actors wanted greater accountability over the money being collected.
He further disclosed that this disagreement contributed to the decision by some practitioners to leave the association, while clarifying that Ibrahim Chatta, rather than himself, led the group out of ANTP.
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