When Soji Ogunnaike first thought about making an action film, he didn’t have months to train actors for fight scenes. He needed someone who could walk onto set already fluent in the language of punches, kicks, and controlled chaos. That’s how Ikechukwu Onunaku, rapper, actor, and martial arts enthusiast, landed the lead in ‘Dead Tide’.
“I’ve known Ikechukwu since 2006,” Ogunnaike recalls. “Back then, I knew he had martial arts experience, and with the time constraints we had, I wanted someone comfortable with the physicality. This was the right role at the right time.”
That story follows Itoro (Ikechukwu Onunaku), a man trying to rebuild his life after his sister’s death by running a quiet beach bar. His peace is broken when Sade (Eniola Ajao), a social media influencer, stumbles in after filming a murder committed by the president’s son. The pair are forced into a fight for survival and justice that plays out against the open waters and tight-knit community of Badagry
It stars Ikechukwu Onunaku, Uche Nwoko, Mo Bimpe Adedimeji, Eniola Ajao, Tope Olowoniyan, Ibrahim Suleiman, William Benson, Folu Storms, Saga Adeolu, Ayokunle Odeleye, Victor Bekewei, and Adamson “Adams Effect” Ibrahim.
Shot in late 2024, ‘Dead Tide’ is a contemporary action-thriller set in a small fishing town in Badagry from Rushing Tap. The choice of location, Ogunnaike admits, came partly down to budget but also to worldbuilding. “You have to think of the film’s universe. We wanted spectacle — car chases, explosions — but grounded in a place with character. Badagry gave us that.”
The decision paid off in unexpected ways. During a night market scene with Eniola Ajao and Mo Bimpe, locals abandoned their stalls to watch. “It was just genuine love,” Ogunnaike says. “They hadn’t had actors of that calibre in town before. It was mind-blowing.”
For Uche Nwoko, ‘Dead Tide’ is doubly memorable; it’s her first cinema role. Playing Senayan, a “striking singer”, required her to mime a song she couldn’t actually sing. “I had to learn the lyrics word-for-word and channel my inner Beyoncé,” she laughs. “And then to be filming alongside Ikechukwu… it felt like a dream come true.”
Adekunle Odeleye, also making his big-screen debut, plays Kazim, a name he shares with his grandfather, and relished the fight choreography. “I actually fought with a bat,” he says. “You have to be careful with stunt work, but it was exciting. I’ve wanted to do this since secondary school.”
Behind the camera and sometimes in front of it was Adamson “Adams Effect” Ibrahim, the stunt coordinator who also plays Ahmad. For him, action thrillers are logistically easier than epic films, which often require training hundreds of extras, but the rush is the same. “When stunt people take on acting roles, it makes production smoother. I want to do more – action roles, especially.”
Lawyer Ikhane Akhigbe sees ‘Dead Tide’ as proof that Nollywood needs to keep taking risks. “We have so many stories to tell. We can’t all tell the same ones,” he says. “Rushing Tap is evolving, and I want more companies to do the same.”
From the Badagry shoreline to the big screen, ‘Dead Tide’ is Rushing Tap’s statement of intent: action, spectacle, and a willingness (as Ogunnaike puts it) to “mess shit up” in the best possible way.
Dead Tide is distributed by Nile Entertainment, and it is now showing in cinemas.
