Retro Nolly: 'Issakaba' Speaks to Nigeria's Justice System

What is 'Issakaba' saying About Nigeria's justice system? Seyi Lasisi takes a look.

Retro Nolly is a weekly series of retrospective reviews of classic Nollywood films by Seyi Lasisi. We will be looking at these films with modern eyes, dissecting what made them unique and how they speak to today’s filmmaking, culture and society.

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Having religiously written about Old Nollywood films for months, one of the things I'm deeply grateful for isn't watching some of them growing up because i am not smeared with nostalgia or trauma from watching our unique take on horror and supernatural thrillers. Thus, watching these Nollywood classics with an advanced appreciation for cinema and understanding of storytelling, I can’t help but get occasionally confused on how some of these films became classics. There is a recurring theme of  exaggerated and dragged scenes which current Nollywood films seem to have inherited. Additionally, these classics are fascinated with telling a socially conscious story that has a propensity for running into hours. However, what the filmmakers intend to say about these social faults aren't coherently expressed.  

There comes Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen's Issakaba, a movie that, almost three decades later, still aptly summarises the political, justice and security system of Nigeria. Co-written by Reginald Ebere and Chukwuka Emelionwu, Imasuen’s action-drama is inspired by the Bakassi Boys, a community vigilante group prolific for combating crime in South-eastern cities like Onitsha and Aba. In Imasuen's film,  the vigilante group's use juju-powered cutlasses to separate criminals from non-criminals almost instantly, which enables swift and efficient delivery of justice unlike the Nigerian justice system that can't be entrusted with criminals. The citizens become confident in the Issakaba Boys due to their swiftness in serving justice and clamping down on crime and criminals in their society. 

But there is unrest within the Issakaba as Ebube (Sam Dede), the leader of the group, is in a strained relationship with Nwoke (Mike Ogundu), his second-in-command who becomes corrupt. Also, while the Issakaba Boys are doted on with admiration and commendations by community members, the Igwe (Remmy Ohajianya) and the police force, there is palpable resentment against their activities. Ebube and the Issakaba Boys conduct their vigilante activities in the community, having branded themselves detectives, judges, jury and executioners within minutes. 

Led by Chief Mbadefor Odiachi (Bruno Iwuoha), who believes the Issakaba activities are targeted political moves to erase the Igwe’s opponents, the growing dissent and Nwoke's brewing resentment in Ebube's leadership find expression. Ostracised from the group, Nwoke, in alliance with Chief Odiachi, launches a concerted campaign to inspire public disapproval of the Issakaba Boys. In place of curbing criminal activities,  Nwoke and his staunch supporters decide to randomly brutalise and murder multiple criminals without conducting an investigation.

The Bakassi Boys  who inspired Imasuen’s film were notable for their hasty serving of justice and that hasty brutality of Jungle Justice in Nigeria is something the film shows. The vigilante group which was created to restore order in the South-east which was heavily disturbed by armed robbers had a single motive similar to the fictionalised Issakaba Boys: Reducing crime. Thus, they target perpetrators of robberies, ritual killing and kidnapping in the region. In a society where the crime rate keeps rising, and the police officers are complacent or timidly performing their sworn responsibilities, vigilante groups and jungle justice become the daily reality. 

It's almost impossible, watching the film in 2024, not to recall the horrifying activities of the One Million Boys. This notorious robbery gang dominated Lagos and Ogun state during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. The One Million Boys’ turned young and old males, voluntarily and compulsively, into a community vigilante unit guarding their family, street, and properties against the anticipated activities of the criminal group.  If anything, Issakaba indicates how steeped in stagnancy Nigeria is. Hitherto,  the criminal and justice system in Nigeria is still in disarray. The dimensions of armed robbery, kidnapping and ritual killings have grown stronger. The Bakassi boys have now being replaced by various vigilante groups across the country.

These vigilante groups, as history has shown, are created out of the disturbing reality that the Nigerian government is apathetic to protecting its citizen's lives and properties. It’s saddening that, to date, Nigerians still have to rely on these groups for their safety. And despite the somewhat mortifying activities of the Issakaba Boys, they have, over time, become a symbol for justice and the fight against crime in Nigerian society. 

In a recent interview with Vanguard newspaper while filming another sequel of Issakaba, Dede mentioned how unchanged the situation is. “It’s telling us that those bandits that Issakaba boys fought against 25 years ago have not changed. They are still here with us. Before now, we were dealing with armed robbers, but  the dimension of kidnapping, ritual killings have become stronger than those things we fought against 25 years ago.” 

Politics aside, an exciting aspect of Issakaba is the dialogue. Reminiscent of the Nigerian cultural worldview and dripped with metaphors and symbolisms, the characters’ dialogue fittingly captures the tension of different scenes. “The river does not flow through the forest without bringing down trees,” Ebube says to the Igwe and his chief as he warns them that the criminals they seek to remove might be among them. “The smoke and the rabbit have never been friends,” and  “When the fire dies, the ashes remain to bear testimony of the flames” are other memorable lines from the film. It's impossible to watch the movie without occasionally pausing to appreciate the dialogue, and the manner in which Dede delivers them. Additionally,  the acting is commendable. Dede's performance ably interprets the conflicted mindset of a leader. Ogundu's performance as the villain has its saving grace too.