Renowned for his fast-paced thrillers, movie producer Jimi Odumosu is out with a new blockbuster series focusing on tax matters.
Tagged ‘Special Tax Investigations Department (STID)’ , the new baby of Odumosu who shot into the Nigerian film consciousness in the 1980s for his film, Evil Encounter,focuses on goings-on in corporate Nigeria regarding taxes.
And on Sunday, the pilot titled A Can Of Worms which was produced by Jimi Odumosu Productions and Affadot Studios was screened to a select audience at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos. Present at the event were former first lady of Lagos, Dame Abimbola Fashola, president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Ms Teju Somorin, the vice president of CITN, Ms Jumoke Simplice, notable actor Sadiq Dabba, Yinka Ogundaisi, President, Director Guild of Nigeria, (DGN), Fred Amata, Lilian Amah Aluko and AJ Dagga Tolar among others.
With office settings, night life, secrets and killings, the viewer is submerged into the world of taxation and the many intrigues surrounding it. In the episode, Niger Motors is involved tax evasion. And a murderer from a past business is also on the loose. In the course of the movie, an STID official is unto the case but he is brutally killed while working at the office at night. The Niger Motors’ Chief Accountant is also killed after a night out. The killer’s attempt on the owner of Niger Motors however, is not successful. In all these, the police efficiently tracks the killer, eventually nabbing the otherwise efficient ‘soldier’ and exposing the tax crime.
Lauding the producers of the movie, Ms Somorin said she was impressed and said the movie would go a long towards educating Nigerians on tax issues. She also said the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the 36 state tax bodies and tax bodies outside the country would be interested in the movie.
“We should try as much as possible promote this film to as many tax authorities as possible,” she said.
Produced by Jimi Odumosu and Abdulkarim Adeniyi Yusuf, A Can Of Worms stars actors such as Tope Tedela, Najite Dede, Vanessa Kanu, AniIyoho, Paul Utomi, Godswill Uchechukwu, Baaj Adebule, Christian Paul, Chris Biyibi, Sandra Eze, Gregory Ojefua, Dotun Yusuf-Abdulkarim and others.
“Producing a film of this kind is never easy in a country like Nigeria, and you have to have a certain appetite for high risk to put your personal money into a project of this sort,” said Odumosu, the writer, producer and director of the series, who said he enjoyed working on police and medical series.
“But I like to think of myself as a true Artist who has great passion for his craft.”
Odumosu who started his career at the Nigeria Television Authority in 1977, producing series such as Village Headmaster and For Better For Worse, was a pioneer force in the debut of Lagos Weekend Television in the 1980s. His movie and TV productions include Fiery Force, Head Of State, The Morning After and Doctors’ Quarters.
