Nigeria’s Censors Halt a Film About the Apo Six and Send It to the DSS
NIGERIA · FILM
Key Facts
—The film: The Night of June 7th is a drama directed by Toka McBaror, produced by media entrepreneur Linda Ikeji and distributed by Nile Entertainment. It is based on the 2005 Apo Six killings, in which six young Nigerians were shot dead by police in Abuja.
—The date it lost: The film had been scheduled to open in cinemas across Nigeria on Friday 28 August 2026. That release is now on hold.
—Who stopped it: The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) directed the suspension of the film’s release, distribution and public exhibition, and referred it to the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria’s domestic security agency, for further review and advice.
—The producer’s response: Linda Ikeji confirmed the hold publicly and said her team would continue cooperating with both the board and the DSS. Nile Entertainment said the producer and distributor remain fully compliant with the review process.
—Why the case still resonates: The Apo Six shootings remain one of the most widely cited cases of extrajudicial killing in recent Nigerian history. Two police officers were convicted and sentenced to death in 2017; three others were acquitted, including a deputy commissioner who was later reinstated.
—What has not been said: No official from the censors board or the DSS has been named in the reporting, no timetable for the review has been published, and no specific objection to the film’s content has been made public.
Nigerian film censors have halted the cinema release of The Night of June 7th and referred it to the Department of State Services. The drama, based on the 2005 Apo Six police killings, had been due to open nationwide on 28 August.
What the Nigerian film censors did
Two days before the scheduled opening, the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) intervened to halt the release, directing the suspension of the film’s release, distribution and public exhibition over the sensitive nature of the real-life events at the centre of the story.
According to the distributor, Nile Entertainment, the board then referred the film to the Department of State Services (DSS) — the domestic security agency also known in Nigerian reporting as the State Security Service — for further review and advice before deciding whether to grant clearance.
The film was directed by Toka McBaror and produced by Linda Ikeji, whose cast includes Gideon Okeke, Femi Branch, Ali Nuhu and Charles Lenny. It had a confirmed nationwide opening date of Friday 28 August.
Ikeji addressed the situation directly on her Instagram page, confirming the hold and saying her team would keep cooperating with both the board and the DSS. She has not publicly disputed the referral.
The case the film is about
In June 2005, six young Nigerians — Ifeanyi Ozo, Chinedu Meniru, Isaac Ekene, Paulinus Ogbonna, Anthony Nwokike and Augustina Arebun, aged between 21 and 25 — were shot dead by police officers in Abuja while returning from a night out. The case, which became known as the Apo Six killings, caused a national outcry.
Five officers stood trial before Justice Ishaq Bello of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. In 2017 the court convicted Ezekiel Acheneje and Baba Emmanuel of culpable homicide and sentenced them to death. Three others, including then-Deputy Commissioner of Police Danjuma Ibrahim, were acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence. The families rejected the judgment and pursued an appeal.
Police authorities later reinstated Mr Ibrahim after his acquittal, restoring his rank and his accumulated salaries dating back to June 2005, according to reporting by Premium Times.
The board’s stated concern was the film’s treatment of the real-life incident. No specific objection to any scene or line has been made public.
What has not been disclosed
No named official from the censors board or the DSS appears in the reporting. Nor has a timetable been published for how long the security review will take.
That absence matters for the producers as much as for the audience. A film held without a stated deadline is a film with no marketing calendar.
Cinema releases in Nigeria are planned around narrow windows, and a lost opening weekend is rarely recoverable at the same scale.
Where this sits in a strong year for Nollywood
Nollywood — Nigeria’s film industry, one of the world’s largest by output — has been having an unusually good run at home, with local titles taking a larger share of a growing box office. Homegrown stories have outperformed international releases more often than they used to.
That makes the commercial stakes higher, not lower. A film with a national subject and a well-known producer is exactly the kind of title the current market rewards.
It also raises the question of what happens to distribution. A theatrical hold does not by itself determine whether a film reaches streaming, and no alternative release plan has been announced.
How Nigerian film classification normally works
The censors board classifies films for exhibition and can require cuts, restrict audiences by age or refuse a certificate. It is a routine part of getting a film into Nigerian cinemas.
What is less routine is referral to a security agency. That step moves a decision from content classification into a different register.
Nigeria has a documented history of films being held or banned over political and security subjects. None of that tells us what will happen here. It does explain why the industry reacted to a referral rather than to a classification decision.
What to watch next
The first marker is whether the DSS returns an opinion, and whether it is published. The second is whether the board issues a classification with cuts, a clean approval, or a refusal.
The third is timing. Any of those outcomes arriving quickly would limit the commercial damage; a long silence would not.
This report is based on Premium Times’ coverage of 30 August 2026, corroborated by Legit.ng and by public statements from producer Linda Ikeji and distributor Nile Entertainment.
Frequently asked questions
Which film has been halted?
The Night of June 7th, a drama based on the 2005 Apo Six police killings in Abuja, directed by Toka McBaror, produced by Linda Ikeji and distributed by Nile Entertainment.
When was it supposed to open?
It had been scheduled for a nationwide cinema release on Friday 28 August 2026.
Who stopped the release?
The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), which directed the suspension of the film’s release, distribution and exhibition, and referred it to the Department of State Services (DSS) for further review and advice.
What has the producer said?
Linda Ikeji confirmed the hold and said her team would continue cooperating with both the board and the DSS.
What are the Apo Six killings?
In June 2005, six young Nigerians were shot dead by police officers in Abuja. The case caused a national outcry and remains among the most cited examples of extrajudicial killing in recent Nigerian history.
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