After a four-year hiatus, Kemi Adetiba returns to our screens with a vengeance, delivering what might be her most ambitious project yet. “To Kill A Monkey” is an eight-part Netflix crime thriller that premiered on July 18, 2025, and it’s already making waves across the continent as “a rare gem that offers a refreshing dose of realism.”
A Story That Hits Close to Home
At its core, this isn’t just another cybercrime drama. The series follows a struggling father who becomes “enticed into the lucrative world of cybercrime” and “faces a moral minefield where every choice leads him to greater compromises.” William Benson delivers a powerhouse performance as Efemini, a restaurant worker whose life becomes a relentless series of devastating blows, the loss of his mother, unemployment, the death of one of his triplet babies, and countless other indignities that paint a painfully familiar picture of Nigerian economic reality.
What makes this narrative so compelling is how Adetiba refuses to offer easy answers. Efemini doesn’t become a cybercriminal overnight; circumstances methodically break him down till he joins Oboz’s fraud syndicate, complete with their signature monkey masks, seems like the only viable option for survival. The journey is emotional; you witness his transformation from hopeful father to desperate survivor, and William Benson makes every stage of that descent feel achingly real.
Just four episodes in, viewers are already praising “the colour grading, camera movements and sound” as “really good and emotive.” This is Adetiba at her technical best, crafting a visual language that matches the moral complexity of her story.
One of the series’ standout elements is its authentic use of language. Adetiba seamlessly weaves between crisp English and Nigerian Pidgin throughout the episodes, creating a linguistic landscape that feels genuinely Nigerian. The cybercrime syndicate’s street-level conversations flow naturally in Pidgin. At the same time, the corporate and law enforcement scenes maintain formal English, a choice that adds layers of authenticity to character interactions and social dynamics.
This bilingual approach isn’t just window dressing; it serves the narrative by highlighting class distinctions and cultural authenticity. When Efemini navigates between his struggling neighborhood and the sophisticated world of high-tech fraud, the language shifts mirror his transformation and the different worlds he inhabits.
The emotional performances in “To Kill A Monkey” are nothing short of extraordinary, with each actor delivering their best performances that make every moment feel painfully real.
William Benson’s portrayal of Efemini is a masterclass in emotional vulnerability. His breakdown after losing his mother, the quiet desperation as he watches one of his triplets die, and the gradual hardening of his character as life beats him down, every emotion registers authentically on screen. Benson doesn’t just act; he embodies the crushing weight of poverty and loss with such raw intensity that viewers can’t help but feel his pain.
Bucci Franklin shines as Oboz, the charismatic fraud kingpin who becomes both Efemini’s savior and potential downfall. Many times, the drama was saved by Bucci Franklin’s charisma.” But beyond charisma, Franklin brings layers of complexity to Oboz, moments of genuine care for his crew mixed with the cold calculation of a criminal mastermind.
Bimbo Akintola delivers perhaps the most emotionally charged performance as Mo Ogunlesi, the grief-stricken cybercrime commission officer. Her portrayal of a woman channeling personal trauma into professional obsession is both heartbreaking and compelling. You feel the weight of her family’s loss in every scene, driving her relentless pursuit of justice with an intensity that borders on self-destruction.
Stella Damasus brings nuanced emotional depth to her role as Nosa, Efemini’s wife. Her journey from supportive spouse to someone making impossible choices under extreme pressure showcases the ripple effects of desperation on families. The betrayal scenes are particularly powerful because Damasus makes you understand her character’s motivations even as your heart breaks for Efemini.
What elevates “To Kill A Monkey” above typical crime dramas is its examination of systemic failure. This isn’t a story that glorifies criminality or offers simple moral judgments. Instead, Adetiba forces viewers to confront uncomfortable questions about privilege, survival, and the true cost of integrity in a society where legitimate opportunities are scarce.
The series doesn’t excuse cybercrime, but it provides context that makes Efemini’s choices disturbingly understandable. In a country where economic hardship can crush dreams and destroy families, the line between victim and perpetrator becomes increasingly blurred.
This is “one of those Nollywood series that proves Nigerian television can compete on the global stage while remaining authentically rooted in local realities. The emotional performances alone make it worth watching, and these aren’t just actors playing their roles, but artists channeling their genuine human experiences of loss, desperation, and moral compromise with such authenticity that every betrayal, every moment of grief, every difficult choice resonates long after viewing. It’s a reminder that the best crime dramas aren’t really about crime at all; they’re about the human condition, and the impossible choices we make when pushed to our limits.
For Nollywood enthusiasts and crime drama lovers alike, “To Kill A Monkey” is must must-watch that showcases the continued evolution of Nigerian storytelling on the world stage.
Rating: 8/10
“To Kill A Monkey” is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
