Nollywood actor Damola Olatunji (born February 2) is a Nigerian movie producer and director popular for featuring in Yoruba movies. In 2021, he hit the entertainment headlines for being arrested by the police over a minor altercation.
Damola Olatunji happens to be one of Nollywood’s brightest talents both on and off the screen. Considered a veteran in the industry, it came as a very rude shock to everyone when the news of his arrest broke. Find out what caused the altercation as well as where he is now in this short read.
Summary of Damola Olatunji’s Biography
- Full Name: Damola Olatunji
- Nickname: De-Emperor
- Gender: Male
- Date of Birth: February 2
- Ethnicity: Yoruba
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Muslim
- Marital Status: Married
- Damola Olatunji’s Wife: Olubukola Awoyemi
- Damola Olatunji’s Children: 2
- Damola Olatunji’s Parents: Prophetess Ajibola Anike Olatunji, JP. (mother)
- Damola Olatunji’s Net Worth: $1 Million
- Famous for: Being a Nigerian Actor
- Damola Olatunji’s Instagram: @damolaolatunji
Damola Olatunji Hails from Osun State, Southwestern Nigeria
Damola Olatunji was born on February 2 in an unknown year. He is a native of Edo Agbo community in Osun State. Since his debut until now, no one has been able to figure out the actor’s real age, but he looks to be in his forties. He is the second of 6 children, all born to Mr. and Prophetess Ajibola Anike Olatunji, JP.
Damola’s mother is a former fashion designer-turned-prophetess and minister of God. His father, on the other hand, was a businessman who was always on the move. As a result, most of Damola’s childhood was spent in the absence of his father.
Damola attended primary and secondary school in Osun State, Nigeria. The exact schools he attended are not public knowledge, but it is said that he had his early studies in Ife, Osun state. He later got admitted to the famous Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, also popularly called Yabatech, and he studied Engineering there.
Damola is renowned for his very upbeat, funny roles in Yoruba movies and Yabatech laid the foundation for his career to flourish.
Olatunji’s Acting Career Began When He was Still in School
Damola Olatunji never really had any intentions of becoming an actor at first. He had always wanted to become an engineer and rightfully set out to fulfill that path. While in college, he decided to take up some extracurricular hobbies and started taking drama classes. He went ahead to join a drama group and soon discovered a love for acting that had been lying dormant in him.
The Osun-born actor soon joined forces with a well-known Yoruba actor, Yomi Fash Lanso, who later became his Nollywood mentor. Damola Olatunji soon landed his debut role in the movie ‘Ojo’ meaning “rain.” The movie was produced by Opeyemi Aiyeola and of course directed by his mentor, Yomi.
He has also had the honor of appearing alongside other Nollywood superstars, including Shaffy Bello, Bolaji Amusan, Yinka Quadri, Femi Adebayo, Peju Ogunmola, and many others. Read further to view a list of his best-known movies. The total number of movies that Damola has appeared in over the course of his career numbers at least 100.
Damola Olatunji’s Movies
- Ero Mi (2020)
- A Man’s Best Friend (2020)
- Ile Wa (2018), as Femi
- Omo University (2015)
- Eri Ife (2022)
- Love Trap (2022),
- Haunted Pleasures (2022),
- Monday Osunbor (2021),
- Burgled (2020),
- Ero Mi (2020),
- Bello in CulturE (2018)
- 48 Hours Marriage (2017),
- Awusa (2017)
- Ilu Ominira (2017)
- Aromimawe (2016)
- Ayomi (2015)
- Osan ja
- Toromade
- Arewa ejo
- Imu
- Status
- Ona Mi
- Iyawo Koro
- Arugba
His Awards and Nominations
For his contribution to the fast growth of the Nigerian movie industry, Demola has received some notable awards from a number of key bodies and they include the City People Movie Award for Best Actor of the Year (Yoruba) and City People Movie Special Recognition Award.
Damola Olatunji Has Been Involved in a Couple of Altercations with the Nigerian Police
Sometime in December 2021, Damola came on Instagram live to make a series of complaints about the Nigerian police. He shared his story with his fans, revealing the identities of policemen who he said seized his phones and that of his personal assistant, and assaulted them.
Damola revealed that the unfortunate incident occurred in the Abule Egba area of Lagos state. There were multiple reports that the actor was charged to court and they turned out to be true, However he was soon released.
Nigerians, shaken by the news, took to social media to react to the blatant impunity exhibited by the Police. Many of them even asked the important question of what would have happened to the moviemaker if he had not been a famous personality. Damola further accused the policemen of extorting people, a phenomenon that is true about the Nigerian Police.
Damola exposed them for assaulting and extorting a bike man at the Abule-Egba axis of Lagos. The video, which has since been deleted, showed the police officers tear-gassing the entire place in a bid to disperse the people who gathered to watch the unfolding scene.
He was Arrested for Assaulting a Police Officer
In December 2021, Damola Olatunji was arrested for public incitement and assaulting a police officer and was charged to court just hours after he was arrested. Everything he said was confirmed by the president of the Theater Arts and Motion Picture Producers Association of Nigeria, Bolaji Amusan.
Bolaji not only confirmed Damola’s arrest, he also revealed that the actor had been slammed with a total of six count charges. Fortunately, Damola was granted bail soon after by the magistrate court in Ogba.
After everything that happened, neither the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, nor the State commissioner of police bothered to issue a statement explaining and apologizing for how they treated Damola. This would be the second time the movie director would be having issues with the police in Lagos.
The first was in February 2020 after his movie set was interrupted by some police officers in Lagos who demanded their work permits. Multiple reports say that Damola and his crew were very uncooperative and this led to hours-long stalling of filming. Fortunately, he and his crew were able to settle the matter without any further escalation.