Charles Okpaleke, a Nigerian movie producer, says he has acquired the rights to produce a featured film on the criminal life of Shina Rambo, a former kidnap kingpin.
In a post on his Instagram page on Tuesday, the 37-year-old filmmaker said he decided to secure intellectual property rights to produce the feature film after engaging in a lengthy conversation with the former armed robber turned pastor.
Okpaleke added that the title of the movie will be ‘Shina Rambo’.
“I sat down for three hours and listened to a former bandit and armed robber kingpin who terrorised south-west Nigeria in the 90s. Though he is now a pastor preaching the gospel, his story was intriguing. I decided to acquire the intellectual property rights to his story and make it an action packed feature film. His name is Shina Rambo,” he wrote.
In the caption that accompanied the post, the filmmaker said he will continue to strive to tell Nigerian stories through his movies.
“I’m in this industry to tell our Nigerian stories (and we have a lot of them). I’m not perfect but I strive to be, and as a new film maker don’t expect instant perfection. But expect one thing ‘I’m here to stay’ and I’ll get better at it. This is just the beginning guys! We are fearless! We move!! Movie Title: Shina Rambo,” he added.
Born in 1958, Shina Rambo, whose real name is Oluwasina Oluwagbemiga, was a former bandit and armed robbery kingpin who terrorised the south-west region of Nigeria in the 1990s.
He was known for his fetish ways and his belief in rituals and human sacrifices.
In November 2020, he had narrated various dreaded measures he took in search of occultic powers in the past.
After he secured freedom from prison during the regime of Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, he became a pastor and started to preach the gospel.
Okpaleke made his debut in film production with ‘Living In Bondage: Breaking Free’, a sequel to ‘Living in Bondage’, the original movie which was produced in 1992. He acquired the right to the movie in 2015.
The movie won him seven awards at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards in 2020, including the ‘Best Movie (West Africa)’ and ‘Best Overall Movie’ categories.
He had also acquired the rights to the remake of three other Nollywood classics; ‘Rattle Snake’ (1995), ‘Nneka the Pretty Serpent’ (1994) and ‘Glamour Girls’ (1994), all under Play Network Africa, his production company.
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