“Pastor, Alfa & Herbalist Saved Me”: Hakeem Effect Recounts Spiritual Attack, Adedimeji’s Set Clash
- Special effects artist Hakeem Effect opened up about a professional clash on Lateef Adedimeji's movie set over a payment dispute
- Hakeem recounted how he survived a life-threatening spiritual attack while working on a film in southeast Nigeria
- The Nollywood SFX master also recalled running away from home in 1996 and being disowned by his father
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Nollywood special effects master Hakeem Onilogbo, popularly known as Hakeem Effect, has addressed a clash that occurred on actor Lateef Adedimeji's film set sometimes ago, while also shedding light on a near-fatal spiritual ordeal early in his career.
He spoke during an interview on Oyinmomo TV published on YouTube on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
Source: Instagram
Speaking on the Lateef Adedimeji set incident, Hakeem Effect clarified that the situation had nothing to do with personal grievances.
According to him, the crew members he brought onto the project demanded higher pay than he had offered, arguing that Lateef's productions typically attracted larger fees.
Hakeem Effect said he held firm, insisting that since the workers were engaged through him and not directly by the actor, the rate he proposed was what stood.
Hakeem Effect opens up on spiritual attack on movie set
Beyond the professional friction, Hakeem Effect shared a far more harrowing experience from earlier in his career.
While working on a production in the southeastern part of Nigeria, he fell gravely ill in a manner he could not medically explain. He described it as a deliberate spiritual attack aimed at disrupting his growing craft.
"A Pastor, an Alfa, and a Herbalist saved me," he said, describing how Christian prayer, Islamic intercession, and traditional herbal treatment worked together to pull him back from the brink.
Source: Instagram
From runaway to West Africa's top SFX artist
Hakeem Effect's journey to the top was anything but conventional. He fled his family home as a young boy in 1996 and spent time sleeping under bridges in Lagos.
According to him, his father subsequently disowned him, declaring that he was a "black sheep" who would never amount to anything.
With no formal training in special effects, Hakeem built his skills through self-teaching, experimentation, and what he described as guidance received through dreams, crediting a teacher he encountered in that spiritual space.
That unconventional foundation eventually gave rise to Trickz International, his special effects company.
Today, he oversees a team of over 30 staff, handles multi-million-naira production budgets and has won multiple Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards (AMVCAs), cementing his status as West Africa's most sought-after prosthetics and SFX artist.
His father, who once wrote him off entirely, eventually witnessed his son's remarkable turnaround, a moment Hakeem Effect described as personal vindication after years of rejection and hardship.
Watch Hakeem Effect's interview in the video below:
Hakeem Effect shares career journey
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Hakeem Effect started his career as an actor before moving into makeup and special effects.
The award-winning special effects artist revealed that he has no formal training in the field but has worked on projects including Jagunjagun 1 & 2 and Abanisete.
Hakeem also discussed his back-to-back AMVCA wins, his challenging experience on Jagunjagun 2, and how he now trains about 30 people in special effects, props and costumes.
Source: Legit.ng
