Nollywood actor and filmmaker Daniel Etim Effiong has narrated how his father, Moses Effiong, spent 34 years in jail for his alleged involvement in the 1986 Vatsa coup conspiracy.
The actor revealed this in a video from his interview with Diary of a Naija Girl that started trending today.
His father, a retired lieutenant colonel, was detained when Etim Effiong was one year old, months after former military president Ibrahim Babangida toppled Muhammadu Buhari in 1985.
Later, he said, there were suspicions of a counter-coup, with one Mamman Vatsa, a close supporter of Babangida, suspected as the architect.
His father was not involved in the conspiracy, he added, but became implicated after a colleague mentioned his name during interrogation.
“His best friend was arrested when the whole thing came out and so was he. “They asked him who he told about the coup and he said he told my dad,” he claimed.
The actor says his father was later convicted and sentenced to death by a firing squad.
“I was one year old when he was arrested and tried for complicity in trying to overthrow the government, reportedly for treasonable offences, for a coup against President Ibrahim Babangida,” he claimed.
Etim Effiong stated his father had escaped execution by a hair’s breadth after he and two other soldiers were separated from the rest who were ultimately slain.
“He brought the three soldiers out and told them that they were to stay behind while the rest were being transferred. The three troops were saying, ‘Ah, we too, we want to go on transfer now, why are we not going on transfer, we’re all together.’ They took the ones going on transfer to the rear of Kirikiri and shot them. That’s how they died,” he said.
His father’s sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment, he added.
Moses Effiong spent 34 years in prison before receiving presidential pardon in 2020. Etim-Effiong claimed.
Herd & AMVCA recognition
The actor remarked in another interview, in October 2025, that the movie’s reception had been “exciting and humbling.”
I’m thrilled. I’m really happy that the reception has been so good. I’ve not had one unfavorable review to date. My favourite thing at the moment is just to go into the cinema hall and sit down and watch people react to the film. I also truly can’t stop watching it. “It’s a really exciting time for me,” he remarked.
He also confessed that the project was under pressure, because the box office had to be good.
Also there is the duty of making sure the film does well in the opening weekend. We’re out here trying to push the film, get people to go watch it. “But with a limited marketing budget, there is only so much we can do to promote it,” he continued.
When asked what the film meant to him, Etim-Effiong said: “I have always known, but this movie proves that I can tell good stories
The movie which highlights the issue of insecurity and highway attacks in Nigeria later earned nine nominations at the 2026 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards including Best Movie and Best Director.
Etim-Effiong claimed before that the novel was inspired by his concerns about insecurity in the country.
It’s something I’m enthusiastic about. When I was a kid, I used to go on road vacations with my dad. But I would love to have road vacations with my kids but I won’t dare because of the dread of hijackers on the highway. I want to fly anyplace with my kids I want to. “It’s tragic that we have such beautiful scenery in Nigeria and one can’t access it because of insecurity,” he remarked.
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