Nigeria Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank, also known as Afreximbank, is gearing up to launch a $1B African Film Fund in 2024 to support the continent’s burgeoning film industry.

Burna Boy has officially launched his I Told Them… Tour and we have the set list from the first show!

A dad-of-six claimed 30,000 cigarettes were for 'personal use' after ignoring the duty free signs at Manchester Airport.

A woman who has spent £9,000 on twelve holidays in the space of a year insists everyone should have time off 'at least once a month'. Mel Anyamene made it her new year's resolution to travel abroad 12 times in 2023.

Travel Man star Richard Ayoade has an unusual connection to former GB News presenter Laurence Fox.The IT Crowd star and comedian is married to Laurence’s sister, Lydia, making the pair brothers-in-law. However, while Richard, 46, and Laurence, 45, are seemingly on good terms, that hasn't always been the case. During an interview with The Sunday Times, Laurence explained that he’d briefly fallen out with his brother-in-law following an appearance on Question Time in 2020.

EXCLUSIVE: Grammy award-winning Afrobeats artist Mr Eazi has signed on to headline the forthcoming fifth season of The Change Africa Podcast from Nexa Media. 

EXCLUSIVE: Ugandan actress Tracy Kababiito, British-Nigerian actor Wale Ojo and Rwandan actress Isabelle Kabano are set to co-star in groundbreaking, pan-African Rwanda genocide drama Bisesero: A Daughter’s Story.

UK director George Amponsah’s thriller Gassed Up has won the London Film Festival (LFF) Audience Award for Best Feature in the 67th edition running from October 4 to 15, as the event also posts record participation.

Reuters that the agency raided a party on Saturday that was being attended by “homosexuals and pimps.”Fifty-nine men were arrested, including 21 who confessed to being homosexual, and 17 women.The Gombe NSCDC also claimed that the organizer of the birthday party had planned to wed another man, who remains at large, before police raided the event.Under Nigerian law, sex acts between people of the same-sex are illegal and carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail. Those who attempt to enter same-sex unions can also be sentenced to 14 years in jail, while others who “witness, abet, and aid the solemnization of a same-sex marriage or union” may serve up to 10 years in jail.

EXCLUSIVE: The National Film Authority of Ghana (NFA) has set the lineup for it’s inaugural Africa Cinema Summit (ACS) in Accra, hosted in partnership with FilmOne Group (Nigeria) and Silverbird Cinema (Ghana). 

WME has signed the Estate of Nigerian bandleader, composer, political activist and Afrobeat creator Fela Kuti for management worldwide under its WME Legends division.

Honest Marco Silva admits Calvin Bassey was mercilessly targeted by Ange Postecoglou after his two disastrous blunders condemned Fulham to defeat against Tottenham.

Lydia Ina's life work is looking after vulnerable children. The 83-year-old from Fallowfield has been dubbed ‘Nigeria’s Mother Theresa’ thanks to her herculean achievement of being a foster carer for over 300 kids.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor “It’s been a really buzzy and busy market,” said Lucy Smith, director of Mipcom TV market and conference, and MipJunior, the kids TV event that preceded it, in Cannes Wednesday. More than 11,000 participants from more than 100 countries had come to the event, which runs Oct. 16-19.

Nigeria has submitted CJ Obasi’s Sundance title Mami Wata as its candidate for the Best International Feature Film in the 96th Academy Awards.

Central Cee has discussed his similarities with Ice Spice, revealing that he sees a lot of his own qualities in the rapper.The comments arose in a new interview with Complex, which explored the impact that Ice Spice is having on the music industry and her journey as one of the most successful artists of 2023.In the discussion, Ice Spice – whose real name is Isis Naija Gaston – opened up about how she doesn’t let critics’ opinions affect her music, and how she has never really considered herself a “lyricist”.Elsewhere in the feature, British rapper Central Cee was asked about what he sees in Ice Spice, and shared his thoughts on the 23-year-old taking the rap scene by storm.“She reminds me of me a bit,” he said. “She’s cool innit.”“Humble, down to earth, don’t really care too much about the shiny stuff; but knows how to play the game” he responded.

The Booths supermarket carrier bag held 733 pieces of photocopied paper. The pages detailed the life Phil Frampton never knew.

Ellise Shafer Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist” was named the best film in the official competition at this year’s BFI London Film Festival Awards. “Paradise Is Burning” by Mika Gustafson received the Sutherland Award in the first feature competition, while Lina Soualem’s “Bye Bye Tiberias” took home the Grierson Award in the documentary competition and “The Archive: Queer Nigerians” directed by Simisolaoluwa Akande won the short film competition. The jury presidents for this year’s awards included Amat Escalante (official competition), Raine Allen-Miller (first feature competition), Rubika Shah (documentary competition) and Charlotte Regan (short film competition).

Ice Spice has dropped a new single, ‘Pretty Girl’, featuring Nigerian rapper Rema.The track is the first new single from Ice Spice since the deluxe edition of her debut EP ‘Like…?’ was released in July, and sees her gush over a new love interest – “Yeah, you the one, there’s no number two/If I had three wishes, I’d waste ’em on you,” she raps, while Rema sings the chorus.The music video, meanwhile, sees the pair perform against a colourful animated background, while they’re also seen leaning against a retro-looking car.Check out the visuals for ‘Pretty Girl’ below:The rapper’s other musical endeavours this year have included collaborations with PinkPantheress, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift.Meanwhile, Ice Spice is set to make her Saturday Night Live debut tonight (October 14) on the first episode of the late night show’s 14th season, and its first episode in six months.The previous season of SNL was cut short by three episodes as a result of the writers’ strike in the US. Two weeks ago, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced the end of its months-long strike in Hollywood.In other news, the rapper addressed accusations that she is an industry plant, sharing that she’s unbothered by rumours.Reflecting on her swift ascent in a recent cover interview with Variety, the rapper said: “A lot of people have thrown that in my face – like ‘Oh, I’ve never seen anything happen so quickly.

EXCLUSIVE: Lion Forge Entertainment has set a first-look deal with award-winning Nigerian creator and producer Roye Okupe. YouNeek Studios founder and YouNeek YouNiverse creator Okupe recently teamed with Lion Forge on the animated fantasy series Iyanu, based on Okupe’s graphic novel Iyanu: Child of Wonder. Production is currently underway for the Cartoon Network and Max animated series, which Lion Forge will introduce to global distributors at MIPCOM next week.

Tems has released a new song titled "Me & U." It is the Nigerian artist's first new music in over two years, with her last solo release being the If Orange Was A Place EP. “Me & U” comes with a self-directed video that was shot in Malta.

Police in Nigeria have detained Naira Marley following the death of MohBad in Lagos last month, The Guardian and BBC News report. MohBad, a rising star in the Afrobeats scene, died at age 27 on September 12. Prior to his death, the cause of which is unknown, MohBad alleged that Marley had assaulted him and made threats against his life.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Prime Video is eying a UK version of hit format LOL: Last One Laughing.

Mark Sutherland Burna Boy is on fire. In September, the Nigerian singer created a little slice of U.K. chart history as his seventh album, “I Told Them…,” went straight to No.

Michael Beale has challenged Cyriel Dessers to click into gear as Kemar Roofe sweats over another spell on the sidelines.

It seems like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the most of their recent trip to Europe.

Ice Spice is speaking out about the controversial remarks Matty Healy made about her earlier this year.

Serie A giants Napoli have confirmed they rejected multiple offers from abroad for former Manchester United target Victor Osimhen this summer.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are helping to make the new school year a good once for students in Nigeria.

J Hus and Burna Boy have been announced as the headliners for the inaugural Afro Nation Nigeria, happening later this year.Earlier this month, it was announced that Afro Nation Nigeria will take place on December 19 and 20 this year at Lagos’ Tafawa Balewa Square. This will be the second time Afro Nation has been held in Africa – last December, it was staged in Ghana.Yesterday (September 26), the festival revealed the first acts on the 2023 line-up, confirming Burna Boy and J Hus as the headliners.