Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen is back in Nigeria, five weeks before Issakaba: The Return arrives in cinemas nationwide.
Footage and photographs shared with NollywoodCV show the filmmaker walking through the arrivals hall of Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos in Issakaba: The Return branded merchandise, pushing his luggage through the terminal before stopping to take photographs with airport staff who recognised him.
His arrival comes at a significant point in the long journey of this sequel. After completing principal photography in Asaba, Delta State, in early 2024, the film spent two years in post-production. It is now scheduled to open in Nigerian cinemas on November 13, 2026, with Blue Pictures handling theatrical distribution.
The original Issakaba was released in 2001 and became one of the defining action films of its era. It drew from the activities of the Bakassi Boys in southeastern Nigeria, following Ebube and the Issakaba Boys as they confronted armed criminals terrorising their community. The film blended action, horror, traditional mysticism, and a story about communities taking security into their own hands when conventional structures appeared inadequate. The name was derived from Bakassi spelled backwards. Sam Dede played Ebube in the original, and that role became one of the most recognisable performances of his career.
Sam Dede is returning for the sequel. The new cast around him includes Chidi Mokeme, Iyabo Ojo, Regina Daniels, Phyna, Nosa Rex, Alex Osifo, Charles Okafor, Itele the Icon, Mark Angel, and Chiwetalu Agu, bringing together names from different generations of Nigerian screen entertainment.
Lancelot Imasuen has explained that the story came out of conversations with writer Reginald Ebere following the success of The Last Burial. The project was originally called My Town. During development, his attention was drawn to the activities of the Bakassi Boys in Aba, and a script conference eventually shaped the story into what it became.
Lancelot Imasuen has spent months making the case for why the subject still makes sense 25 years later. His argument is that the problems at the centre of the original have not disappeared. Where the first film dealt with armed robbery, assassins, and political violence, he has pointed to kidnapping, banditry, and terrorism as the current-day equivalents. The characters are returning to a familiar world, but the Nigeria they are returning to has changed considerably.
The production is backed by Lancelot Imasuen Media Network Limited, LIAM Studios, WithinDlens Limited, and Laho Music Worldwide Studios Limited. Winnerman Utomi, who came on as executive producer during production, described the film as his first major movie project and said his involvement was driven by a desire to tell African stories that could travel beyond Nigeria.
The official trailer released in October has brought the franchise back into active conversation, giving audiences their first substantial look at the new production and its expanded cast.
Issakaba: The Return opens in cinemas on November 13, 2026, twenty-five years after Lancelot Imasuen first introduced audiences to Ebube and the Issakaba Boys.
