LAGOS — Nollywood fans will see the return of one of the industry's best-known action franchises next month, as 'Issakaba: The Return' opens in Nigerian cinemas on Friday, November 13, 2026. The release date was announced by the film's director and co-producer, Lancelot Imasuen, at a press screening in Lagos, also attended by Joy Odita, Chief Executive Officer of Blue Pictures Cinema. The original 'Issakaba' was released in 2001 and was inspired by the Bakassi Boys, a vigilante group that operated in Aba and other parts of the South East. The new film was shot in early 2024 in Asaba, Delta State. Imasuen said the story carries a simple message: security is local. He noted that the problems of insecurity that inspired the first film remain unresolved a quarter of a century later, and linked the sequel to the current national debate on vigilante groups, state police and decentralised security. Sam Dede returns in his role as Ebube, alongside a cast that includes Nosa Rex, Francis Onwochei, Emeka Rising, Iyabo Ojo, Sir Alex Usifo and Chidi Mokeme. The original film followed Imasuen's earlier hit 'The Last Burial', produced by the late Jude Chukwuka Emelionwu of Kas-Vid International. The sequel is expected to draw both longtime fans of the franchise and a new generation of cinemagoers.