Linda Ikeji Media is coming back to Nigerian cinemas with a film many did not expect: the story of the Apo Six killings. The new movie, titled THE NIGHT OF JUNE 7TH, opens nationwide on Thursday, August 28, 2026, marking the studio’s first major theatrical release in years.
The film is written and produced by Linda Ikeji and directed by Toka Mcbaror. It is inspired by the 2005 extrajudicial killing of six young Nigerians in Apo, Abuja, a case that shook the country and led to years of public protest. The tragedy later resulted in a landmark court ruling that sentenced two police officers to death, a verdict still referenced today in conversations about police accountability in Nigeria.
Twenty one years after the killings, THE NIGHT OF JUNE 7TH brings that night back to public memory, this time on the big screen.
What The Film Is About
THE NIGHT OF JUNE 7TH follows the events surrounding the Apo Six killings, one of the most talked about cases in Nigeria’s recent history. The film does not just retell the incident. It asks the question many Nigerians have carried for two decades: what really happened that night?
The cast includes Gideon Okeke, Femi Branch, Ali Nuhu and Charles Lenny, four names known for carrying weight in serious, message driven Nollywood productions.
Why Linda Ikeji Made This Film
Speaking on the project, Ikeji said the story has stayed with the country long after the headlines faded.
“This is the film Nigeria has waited twenty one years for,” Ikeji said. “Six young people went out one night and never came home, and this country has never stopped asking why. The Night of June 7th is not just a film. It is a reckoning, and it belongs to every Nigerian who refused to forget.”
Director Toka Mcbaror said the team treated the subject with care, given how sensitive the story still is to many families and communities.
“We approached this story with the weight it deserves,” Mcbaror said. “Our responsibility was to the truth of that night and to the memory of the six. Audiences should come prepared to feel everything.”
Release Details
THE NIGHT OF JUNE 7TH opens exclusively in cinemas nationwide on August 28, 2026. The film is distributed by Nile Distribution, and tickets will go on sale at all major cinema chains ahead of the release date. It joins a strong lineup of releases this month. See our full roundup of new Nollywood movies to watch in August 2026.
For Linda Ikeji Media, the film represents a significant return to theatrical filmmaking, choosing a true crime story with lasting national significance as its comeback project rather than a lighter commercial title.
Why This Story Still Matters
The Apo Six case remains one of the defining moments in Nigeria’s push for police reform. It is frequently cited in discussions about extrajudicial killings and the justice system’s response to them. By bringing the story to cinemas more than two decades later, THE NIGHT OF JUNE 7TH puts a national wound back in the spotlight, at a time when conversations about police conduct in Nigeria remain active.
Nollywood Life will continue to follow updates on THE NIGHT OF JUNE 7TH, including trailer releases, premiere details and reactions from audiences ahead of its August 28 cinema debut.
