- Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh has described the execution of his brother, Bartholomew Owoh, under General Muhammadu Buhari’s military regime as one of his most painful moments.
- Bartholomew was one of three young Nigerians executed by the Buhari military regime on April 10, 1985.
- The movie star’s brother, Lawal Ojuolape, and Bernard Ogedengbe were executed for drug-related offenses that were not initially punishable by death.
Veteran Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh has shared the emotional trauma he endured following the execution of his older brother, Bartholomew Owoh, under Nigeria’s military regime led by General Muhammadu Buhari in 1985.
Bartholomew Owoh was one of three young men executed by firing squad on April 10, 1985, for drug-related offenses. Alongside him were Lawal Ojuolape and Bernard Ogedengbe. At the time, their crimes were not originally punishable by death, but a newly introduced decree was retroactively applied to justify their execution.
During a recent interview on Arise TV’s The Interview, aired on April 10, 2025, Nkem Owoh described the period as one of the darkest and most painful moments in his life.
“I was working with Anambra Television then, and I remember walking down the corridor in tears,” he said. “What hurt me the most was how the regime shifted the effective date of the decree, just to include people who committed the offense before the law even existed.”
He criticized the military’s decision to backdate the decree, saying it was both unjust and emotionally devastating.
“Why would anyone change the law to punish people for actions that weren’t considered crimes at the time?” he questioned, still visibly affected by the memory decades later.
Owoh’s candid reflection adds to ongoing conversations about the impact of Nigeria’s military history and the use of retroactive laws during periods of authoritarian rule.
