Nollywood actor Uche Odoputa has spoken
on his travails in prison following his
conviction for drug trafficking in 2007.
Prior to the prison sentence, Odoputa was
close to becoming a household name in the
Nigerian entertainment industry, with a
growing fan base and more, but he lost all of
that afterwards.
He was said to have encountered hard times,
hence his unfortunate journey into peddling
narcotics. Uche Odoputa and Yul Edochie in Brothers
War.
The sad incident which occurred in 2007 and
led to Odoputa’s arrest, for which he did time
in prison for two years and three weeks,
impacted negatively on him as well as the
industry as it cast a major blot on Nigerian
entertainers.
According to Punch, the Imo indigene
revealed he was faced with financial issues
which led him into the illegal trade.
He said: “I regret my actions. I was a
growing brand and a lot of people were
angered by my action. I was disappointed in
myself. I thank God I came out of prison a
changed person.”
The Nollywood actor went on to say the
incident impeded the process for his already-
growing career at the time, leading to a
massive decline in his fan base and goodwill
among other things.
He said: “It took away my career and the
little fame I had at that time, gaining
recognition in Nollywood and even among my
colleagues has been a struggle since then.”
However, he explained that he was lucky to
have some of his colleagues around him
during those trying times.
He credited the likes of the late Amaka Igwe
and John Okafor for their immense
contributions.
He said: “The late Amaka Igwe paid part of
my legal fees, she was always in contact with
me and never abandoned me. She took me
under her tutelage after I was freed from
prison and taught me directing.
“While others paid to learn directing , she
taught me for free. I was to direct the job she
was working on before she died. Up till now, I
can’t bring myself to delete her telephone
number. I still hear her voice sometimes. She
was a good woman.”
On John ‘Mr. Ibu’ Okafor’s controbutions, he
said:
“He used to send me recharge cards which I
sold. That enabled me to take care of myself
when I was imprisoned.”
The actor currently resides in Port Harcourt,
saying he left Lagos to settle in a cooler
environment where he could get the needed
time to relax and reflect more on his life and
career.
He said: “I need some sanity and time to
decongest my brain. Things were moving too
fast in Lagos, so I relocated to Port
Harcourt.”
The 47-year-old actor and director since
returning to the industry has appeared in
movies such as The Eyes Of The Eagle,
Brothers War, Eviction Day and The Captor.


lalasticlala , missyb3, ijebabe

All is well.

Oyingbo

I bet u learnt ur lessons.u r talented all d same.my favorite male act in nollywood..

NCA take over