I Was Buying Gold In Cotonou & Selling In Nigeria; Got Robbed At The Border In 1992 And Cried -Agbor

Nigerian actor Ricardo Agbor has revealed that he was once a jewelry trader who bought gold chains in Cotonou, Benin Republic, and sold them in Nigeria before fully committing to his acting career. The business was lucrative and provided quick cash compared to the meager payments actors received in the early 1990s. However, his trading career came to a devastating end in 1992 when he was robbed at the Nigeria-Benin border, losing a substantial amount of money.

Speaking on Real Life With Aunty Ayo podcast, Ricardo recounted the traumatic experience of being robbed while customs officials watched without intervening. The robbery occurred at the border crossing between Nigeria and Cotonou, and he suspects there may have been some connection or coordination between the robbers and officials, as he observed Nigerians being targeted while authorities stood by. The loss was so significant that he broke down emotionally, though he clarified that for him crying doesn’t necessarily mean shedding tears but rather experiencing deep emotional pain.

The robbery marked a turning point in Ricardo’s life. He had been wavering between pursuing acting full-time and continuing his profitable gold trading business. After losing his capital at the border, he made the decision to focus entirely on his first love—acting—which he had been passionate about since childhood. He chose to invest in his God-given talent rather than risk further losses in cross-border trade. This painful experience, though devastating at the time, ultimately pushed him toward the successful acting career he enjoys today.

Ricardo Agbor said: “Around 1992, I got robbed at the border. Yes, I got robbed at the border and I came back, I cried and all that. I hardly, you cried? Yes, I cried. When I cry, it’s not like me shedding tears but it was really painful because it was a lot of money. It was like equivalent of what now? I don’t know. But it was a lot of money then. It was a whole lot. Was it the border, was it part of Nigeria or border? In between Nigeria and Cotonou and the customs were there. They were watching. So I wouldn’t really want to go into all that because I think there was a whole lot of connection going somewhere on the part of, because you could see Nigerians getting robbed by the gendarmes but you know them. And so I just looked at it, I felt okay let me just stick to this one which my ability could produce regardless……See More