How Ogoro, Arinze led police to arrest me at national theatre – Dede Mabiaku

Renowned Afrobeat singer and saxophonist, Dede Mabiaku, has recounted how filmmaker Kingsley Ogoro and actor Segun Arinze once led security operatives to arrest him at the National Theatre, Lagos, an incident he says eventually deepened their friendship.

Mabiaku, a protégé of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, shared the story in a tribute video to celebrate Ogoro, the iconic film director and music producer, who turned 60 on August 29.

He recalled that the arrest happened decades ago during a misunderstanding over a business transaction involving Ogoro’s sister. According to him, the duo arrived at the National Theatre with policemen and soldiers while he was working on a stage production of Death and the King’s Horseman.

“It was a Friday evening. They stormed the place with security men, and I was arrested,” Mabiaku narrated. “I was taken to Ikoyi Police Station and locked in a cell littered with faeces. It was deliberately planned for a Friday, so I had to spend the weekend in detention.”

Despite the ordeal, Mabiaku said the experience marked the beginning of a stronger bond with Ogoro. “When I came out, he hugged me and asked for forgiveness. I bore no grudges because I truly loved and cared for him. That incident cemented our relationship,” he said.

Reflecting on Ogoro’s career, Mabiaku described him as a “genius” who transformed Nigeria’s advertising and film industries. He traced Ogoro’s journey from a dancer with the John Player Dance Group to an intern at Ajaka Films, before convincing his sister, Senator Stella Omu, to support him in setting up Klink Studio at Tafawa Balewa Square.

Klink Studio, he noted, pioneered modern advertising in Nigeria in the late 1980s and 1990s, producing iconic commercials for brands such as Gala and Indomie. It also became a hub for leading musicians including Onyeka Onwenu, Mike Okri, King Sunny Ade, Gloria Rhodes, Esse Agesse, and Charly Boy.

Mabiaku added that Ogoro was the first producer to fully adopt digital recording in Nigeria and played a key role in popularising pidgin English in commercials.

Segun Arinze, in his tribute, praised Ogoro’s decades-long impact on Nollywood and music, describing his 2003 blockbuster Osuofia in London as one of the most iconic Nigerian films that helped project Nollywood internationally.

Entertainment lawyer, Rockson Igelige, hailed Ogoro as an “Isoko-born genius” who shaped Nigeria’s entertainment industry “from nowhere to somewhere,” while Obi Asika, Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, said his legacy was immeasurable.

Ogoro’s children, Ewoma, Mamobo, and Sean, in a joint tribute, described him as a selfless father and “a gentle and ever-present light” in their lives.