Veteran Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh has revealed that the execution of his older brother, Bartholomew Owoh, during the military regime of General Muhammadu Buhari, remains one of the most heartbreaking experiences of his life.
Recall that Bartholomew was one of three young Nigerians executed by a firing squad on April 10, 1985, by the Buhari military regime.
The brother of the movie star was executed alongside Lawal Ojuolape and Bernard Ogedengbe for drug-related offences that were not originally punishable by death at the time they were committed.
In an interview on Arise Television’s ‘The Interview’, aired Thursday, April 10, 2025, Nkem Owoh said he was furious and shedding tears at work over the traumatic incident.
He expressed bitterness that the military regime had retroactively applied a new decree to impose the death penalty on offences committed before the decree came into effect.
He said, “I was working with the Anambra Television that time, and I was so furious that I was shedding tears along the corridors.
“In fact, the thing that touched me most is that they had to shift the effective date of that decree. You know, during the military era, they can just get out one decree and the next minute, it’s in operation.
“So for them to backdate it to involve or include people who did not commit the offence within their own regime, but years back, I was very bitter.”
Questioning the moral and legal basis of the decision to backdate the law, which ultimately cost his brother and others their lives, the actor added, “Why would it be shifted back to include people who didn’t commit the offence before the decree?”
