Angela and Mercy have a history that goes all the way back to twenty years ago. Regina was just a child then, so there’s no way she can understand the depth of whatever animosity exists between the two veterans.
Mercy began rising in the movie industry in 2004 when the eight most prominent actors (Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Richard Mofe Damijo, Genevieve Nnaji, Emeka Ike, Ramsey Nouah, Nkem Owoh, Stella Damasus, and Jim Iyke) were banned from acting in Nigeria after they started requesting for higher fees to appear in movies.
The ban only lasted one year but it was enough for the likes of Mercy Johnson, Ini Edo, and Stephanie Okereke (now Linus) to rise significantly in Nollywood. Prior to the ban, they had either played minor roles or a friend to the main character.
It also helped that Genevieve didn’t return to the industry until 2006 when she appeared in the movie, Girls Cot, alongside Rita Dominic, Ini Edo, and Uche Jombo.
By then, Mercy had taken over Nigeria as the most sought out actress in Nollywood because only was she a naturally talented, she was also curvy with an enviable figure. Her versatility mixed with her attractiveness served her well in the roles that were the most popular at the time. Think of royalty, village maiden, campus student, and femme fatale.
But as her fame increased, she started clashing with other prominent actors too. The first fight to make headlines was between her and Patience Ozokwuor in 2010. According to witnesses, Mama Gee had complained about her costume and said (paraphrased), “I’m not Mercy that will wear this dress”. Mercy heard the comment and went off on her.
Then in 2011, she clashed with Mike Ezuruonye. She had arrived late at a movie set and kept everybody waiting. According to witnesses, Mike then confronted her about her disrespect and arrogance and reminded her of her early days when she was humble and had strong work ethics. Those words were enough to upset Mercy who would later refuse to run her lines with Mike.
In 2011, Mercy also married her husband Prince Odianosen Okojie while he was still legally married to his ex-wife. That event further contributed to putting a dent on her image as a Nollywood bad girl.
Shortly after she got married, it was reported that Mercy Johnson had broken a crew member’s phone after she caught the young woman recording a love scene between her and a male colleague. According to witnesses, Mercy had suspected that the crew member wanted to leak the footage to bloggers who would then use it as evidence of her infidelity towards her newly wed husband.
(When I read the news back in the day, I supported Mercy. Nigerian bloggers were extremely vicious and fabricated the most outrageous stories about Nollywood actresses. Ini, Tonto, and Genevieve hear am for their hand)
When Mercy started giving birth, she began to step away from the movie industry; however, her past antics kept catching up with her.
In 2019, actress Sonia Ogiri came out and narrated the ordeal Mercy put her through and how she had to kneel down and beg the thespian to forgive her and stop blocking her from getting roles.
By this time, Mercy had successfully laundered her image and had become Nigerians’ favourite; therefore, Sonia was severely bullied by Mercy’s fans and shut down for speaking out.
In 2020, singer Davido commented “Wicked pple …. congrats though” under an Instagram post the actress Eniola Badmus had made to congratulate Mercy and her husband on the arrival of their baby. When another user enquired further, Davido replied “nothing just evil set of pple that’s all 😇”.
(Mercy’s husband later came out to debunk the news about the childbirth but neither of them addressed Davido’s comment).
In 2021, Mercy’s first child, Purity was targeted by a female teacher who claimed that she did what she did because of the animosity she harboured towards Mercy. The reason for the said animosity was never revealed.
Fast forward to 2025, Mercy has visibly lost a ton of weight, and people are beginning to suspect that it might not be deliberate like she had previously claimed.
Then yesterday, June 3rd, her colleague, Angela Okorie, revealed during her Instagram live that Mercy is battling an illness that she, Angela, wouldn’t wish on anybody and urged Mercy to go and apologise to the people she has offended.
And we finally get to today when Regina Daniels has stepped into the ring to defend her godmother and is currently taking Angela to the cleaners. But Angela stays firm in her words and insists that Mercy should follow her advice and make amends with all the people she had offended in the past.
My personal opinion is that given the long history between these two women and how young Regina was when it all began, my advice to her is that she sits this out.
Angela is problematic, no doubt, but she knows a lot of information to which Regina isn’t privy. Therefore, it’s in her best interest to focus on having a smooth pregnancy (I remember that Ned revealed that she was pregnant on his anniversary post) and allow the two women to sort themselves out.
This is not her playground.
The matter long and deep; that’s why all the people who know and were there when it all began are silent and watching.
