The Herd (2025): Nollywood’s Bold Look at Nigeria’s Uncomfortable Truths

The Herd 2025 premiered in private cinemas on October 17th before making its official Netflix Africa debut in November. It is currently streaming, which explains the recent online buzz. The plot feels thought-provoking from the very beginning, which makes sense considering Daniel Etim Effiong directed it. Lani Aisida wrote the screenplay, and both creators clearly aimed to tell a story that hits closer to home than many Nollywood thrillers.

The Herd 2025 tells a story that mirrors one of the many issues Nigeria faces today. It does not waste time sugarcoating anything and it does not try to hide the uncomfortable parts behind unnecessary humour. It features several seasoned actors like Norbert Young, Kunle Remi, Mercy Aigbe, Tina Mba, Daniel Etim Effiong, and Genoveva Umeh. These actors carry the plot in different ways and allow the story to breathe without rushing through its emotional weight.

Premise

The Herd 2025 opens in the heart of Ekiti with a scene radiating joy as the church welcomes the newlyweds, Fola and Derin. Friends and relatives swarm the couple, demanding photo after photo until the attention overwhelms them. Desperate for air, they sneak out of their own wedding and dive straight into the car of Fola’s best man, Gosi, begging him to whisk them to their hotel.

Their sudden intrusion startles Gosi. Moments before, he had ended a devastating call with his wife, Adama, who has refused further chemotherapy for her recurring breast cancer. That conversation charges the film with immediate emotional weight. Though visibly shaken, Gosi agrees to drive the couple.

However, the atmosphere shifts instantly. A calculated, man-made blockade traps them in traffic. Just as Gosi steps out to investigate, masked bandits emerge from the bushes. Wielding guns and machetes, they drag drivers from their vehicles. They instantly execute anyone attempting heroism, a scene that made me sit up, a chilling reminder of how close danger lurks in this country.

Far from this chaos, duty interrupts Inspector Garba. Standing in the hospital, cradling his newborn child, he loses his tender moment to the unforgiving demands of his job. His phone rings, and it is Inspector Niji is on the line, reporting the kidnapping that just occurred. In less than a minute, Garba goes from a proud father to a man thrown straight into the middle of a crisis.

Back at the police station, the families of the bride and groom wait in panic. Other relatives of the victims gather too. Everyone cries and begs the police to help them. The fear in those scenes is very familiar. It reflects how helpless families feel when kidnappings happen in real life. Surprisingly, the only person who does not join them at the station is Adama. She tells her sister in law what happened but begs her not to inform the police. Up till now I still do not understand her reason because it made no sense to me.

At this point, the lives of over ten kidnapped hostages, including Gosi and Derin, depend on Inspector Garba and Niji. So the questions begin to build. Will the police be sharp enough to save them? Or will they die in the hands of a resistant group built around their rebellion against their leader known as the Sheikh.

Cast and Performances

The cast of The Herd 2025 features a good mix of actors who appear in scenes that support the story. While some performances stood out beautifully, others gave results I would not like to see again. Here is my short list, from the most impressive to the ones who honestly should not have been on set at all.

Ibrahim Abubakar as Anas

Ibrahim plays Anas, a cold Hausa bandit who leads most of the attacks. His performance was terrifying in the best way. The precision in his acting made me imagine myself as one of his captives. I could feel fear in my veins. His eyes carried that hunger for blood even before he spoke. Out of everyone on the bandit side, Ibrahim owned the role completely. I want to see him in more intense movies because he has the skill and presence for it.

Amal Umar as Habiba

Amal plays Habiba, the school girl who has now become the wife of her abductor. Her performance felt real and painful. She shows us how the human mind adapts to survival even when the environment is cruel. She demands ransom from the families of victims with a hardened tone, yet she still shows empathy. Amal carried that contrast well. She made the story feel even more tragic because she reflected what too many girls in Northern Nigeria go through.

Adam Garba as Inspector Garba

Adam plays Inspector Garba, the man in charge of solving the case. He made the most of the material, but the writing forced him into unnecessary comedy. I laughed unintentionally because a few scenes reduced him to a character from a low-budget version of The Thursday Murder Club rather than a trained officer. He delivered what he could. The issue was not his acting. It was the script that refused to give him depth.

Genoveva Umeh as Derin

Genoveva is talented. We know her from Baby Farm. But The Herd 2025 did not give her anything meaningful to work with. Her character felt confusing and unnecessary sometimes. She spent most of her time running barefoot in the forest with her wedding dress clutched to her chest. Aside from that, nothing else stood out for me. I expected more.

Abba A. Zakky as Halil

Abba plays Halil, the friendly bandit who knows what they do is wrong but keeps doing it anyway because he needs money. He speaks Hausa throughout. I had to depend on subtitles. The subtitles slowed the rhythm for me. He tried in his acting, but Anas was the only one who truly captured the intensity needed for these roles.

Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman as Adama

Linda plays Adama, Gosi’s wife. She looks overwhelmed throughout the movie. I could not understand her decision-making. I don’t understand why, after someone kidnaps her husband, the first thing she does is sit in the kitchen and cry. She does not call the police. She does not alert anybody aside from her sister in law. I needed her character to make sense because the story hinted that she had a reason for her behaviour, and nothing came out of it.

Daniel Etim Effiong as Gosi

Daniel directs the movie and still casts himself as Gosi. Hollywood directors do this sometimes, but that does not mean every director should try it. His performance added nothing to the film. He felt flat, unnecessary and very forgettable, unlike his role in The Masked King, this one felt off. He plays a caring husband and a loyal friend, but the role did not need him and he did not elevate it either.

What I Liked

It has been a while I last reviewed any Nollywood movie, since Everything The Light Touches and Asoebi Diaries. I am happy to say that Nollywood directors are growing in their approach to storytelling. One thing I liked is how The Herd 2025 shines a light on the insecurity that has eaten deep into Nigeria. It also shows the incompetence we constantly complain about in the police force. You might assume Inspector Garba looks like the typical Nigerian police officer, but the reality will shock you. Garba’s team is actually better than many divisions in reality, and I am not joking.

I enjoyed the shift in mood. The movie moves from joy to chaos in seconds. It mirrors real life in Nigeria, where things can go from beautiful to terrifying without warning.

I also enjoyed the way the movie explored the three major ethnic groups. It showed Hausa within the bandits, Yoruba within the victims’ families, and Igbo among some relatives and abductees. The language barrier and the effort to communicate felt authentic and added realism.

Now let me applaud the Hausa actors. Amal and Ibrahim carried the film on their backs. Their scenes were quite evocative and intense. They made the movie gripping and unpredictable, I wished the others could have matched that energy but they did not.

What I Didn’t Like

Terrible acting irritates me. Nothing frustrates me more than watching actors waste a good plot. Some actors made me cringe. I had to look away at some point and pray Amal and Ibrahim returned to the screen.

The director had so many angles to work with but ended up scattering them. The plot felt mixed up at several points. It seemed like they forgot what scene belonged to what moment. The pacing suffered because of that.

Verdict

You will love The Herd if you enjoy ‘fictional nonfiction’, stories that translate real-world issues into on-screen drama. If that is your style, you and your friends are going to enjoy this film.

Do not watch it with kids younger than sixteen. It contains a subtle sex scene and some strong use of language. If these things matter to you, then keep it at PG 16.

My Rating

For the awareness it raises and the conversations it triggers, The Herd gets a 3 out of 5 from me.

Rating

Have you seen The Herd? I would love to hear your thoughts, especially if the director removing Kunle Remi’s character was necessary.

Author

Amarachi Ndukwe

Amarachi Ndukwe is a talented movie reviewer who knows how to make films easy to understand and fun to discuss. She shares her thoughts in a clear and engaging way, helping her readers see what makes each movie special. With a great eye for detail, she explains stories, themes, and characters in a way that anyone can enjoy.