Nkem Owoh (born 7 February 1958) is a Nigerian actor and comedian. In 2008, he won the

African Movie Academy Award The Africa Movie Academy Awards, popularly known as AMAA and The AMA Awards, is presented annually to recognize excellence among professionals working in, or non-African professionals who have contributed to, the African film industry. It was fou ...

for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" for his role in the Nigerian film, "''Stronger than Pain"''.

Early life

Nkem Owoh was born in

Enugu State Enugu State ( ig, Ȯra Enugu) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the south, and Anambra State to the west. T ...

, Nigeria. After his primary and secondary school, he headed to the

Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta is one of the higher institutions of learning owned and run by the Federal government of Nigeria. History The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, or FUNAAB, was estab ...

and studied engineering. Already, during his university studies, Owoh began acting in various television and film productions.

Career

He is also known for performing the song "I Go Chop Your Dollar" about

advance fee fraud An advance-fee scam is a form of fraud and is one of the most common types of confidence tricks. The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the fraud ...

. The song was featured in the film ''The Master'' in which Owoh plays a scammer. The

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud (419 fraud) and money laundering. The EFCC was established in 2003, partially in response to pre ...

and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission banned the song. 20 In 2007 Owoh was arrested in

Amsterdam, Netherlands Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban are ...

(

Bijlmermeer The Bijlmermeer (), or colloquially Bijlmer (), is one of the neighbourhoods that form the Amsterdam-Zuidoost borough (Dutch: ''stadsdeel'') of Amsterdam, Netherlands. To many people, the Bijlmer designation is used to refer to Amsterdam Zuidoost ...

neighborhood in the Amsterdam Zuidoost borough) as the result of a seven-month investigation by the Dutch police dubbed "Operation Apollo". Owoh was arrested while performing a musical show when the police raided the event and arrested 111 people on suspicion of lottery fraud and immigration violations. Owoh was later released. In November 2009 Owoh was kidnapped in eastern Nigeria. His kidnappers demanded a 15 million

naira The naira (sign: ₦; code: NGN) is the currency of Nigeria. One naira is divided into 100 ''kobo''. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the sole issuer of legal tender money throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It controls the volume ...

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

. Owoh was released after his family members allegedly paid a ransom fee of 1.4 million

Filmography

References

External links

* * - Includes a transcript of the music video in the original Nigerian Pidgin and a translation into English by Azuka Nzegwu and Adeolu Ademoyo {{DEFAULTSORT:Owoh, Nkem Igbo male actors Best Actor Africa Movie Academy Award winners Igbo comedians Living people Nigerian male comedians People from Enugu Male actors from Enugu State 20th-century Nigerian male actors 21st-century Nigerian male actors University of Ilorin alumni Kidnapped Nigerian people 1958 births Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta alumni