Do we like Funke Akindele?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Nothing harmful found and some real good, but one guilty plea, a pending lawsuit and a thin record on LGBTQ+ questions keep it from the top.
Funke Akindele is Nigeria’s “Jenifa”, the Nollywood comedy star who built a screen name and then a production empire on the back of that character. In 2022 she did something few actors do and stepped into party politics, accepting the PDP’s offer to run as deputy governor of Lagos. She called pausing her acting “a huge personal sacrifice”.
The big stain is from April 2020, at the start of COVID. A video showed her hosting a party during the Lagos lockdown, which was awkward given she had just appeared in public-health ads. She and her husband were arrested, pleaded guilty, and got 14 days of community service and a N100,000 fine each. She posted an apology and promised to “practice what I preach”.
The politics was short and unsuccessful. She and running mate Olajide “Jandor” Adediran lost to incumbent Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC. She said she entered politics to speak for young people, women and children, and told interviewers she would run again. For a first-timer that’s a decent record of showing up rather than just posting.
On the harm check, we found nothing nasty. No attacks on any group, and no conspiracy theories or culture-war grift turned up in what we could open. She produced and starred in the series She Must Be Obeyed, which gives an effeminate young man a proper role in the story. That is a producer’s choice, not a statement of her views. We found nothing from her on LGBTQ+ rights either way, so the pass rests on a thin record.
There’s a lawsuit hanging over her. In 2024 singer Ewa Cole sued her and nine others, alleging her songs were used in that same series without credit or pay, and seeking N300 million. Akindele’s representative said the accusations were false, and the report records no ruling. It’s an allegation, not a finding.
The latest drama is Nollywood-sized rather than serious. After the March 2026 premiere clip, Toyin Abraham announced on Instagram that she had unfollowed Akindele, and reports say Akindele unfollowed her back. The report we read carries no word from Akindele, so this is a feud made of viral video and unfollows. It says little about her character, and she’s hardly the first star to be accused of a snub.