Katung is the pioneer winner of Big Brother Nigeria in 2006, followed by Efe Ejeba. The eight past and incumbent winners of the show from 2006 to date are:
- 2006: Katung Aduwak
- 2017: Michael Efe Ejeba
- 2018: Miracle Igbokwe
- 2019: Mercy Eke aka Lambo
- 2020: Olamilekan “Laycon” Agbeleshe
- 2021: Hazel Oyeye Onou aka “Whitemoney”
- 2022: Ijeoma Josephina aka “Phyna”
- 2023: Ilebaye
Table of Contents
How it started
The first edition of the reality TV show Big Brother Nigeria kick-started from March 5 to June 4, 2006, and was aired on M-Net and DStv. After the first season, there was a break until 2017 when the second season premiered.
The tv show is based on the Big Big Brother television franchise whereby contestants from different parts of the country are isolated and brought under one roof and compete for a huge large of cash.
Contestants who receive the highest number of votes remain in the show while housemates with the lowest votes are evicted during eviction week. That process continues till a winner emerges.
Since the show began in 2006, it has produced seven winners at the time of this update. The past winners of Big Brother Naija in descending order from 2006 to date are:
Ilebaye
Ilebaye Precious Odiniya aka “Gen-Z baddie” is the winner of the N120million cash prize of the 2023 BBnaija show dubbed All-Stars.
Born in 2001, Ilebaye is a reality TV star, entrepreneur, and fashion model. She first hit the limelight in 2022 after appearing in Big Brother Naija aka “Level Up” Season 7 reality show.
She was the fourth housemate to be unveiled during the All-Stars BBNaija seventh season.
Ilebaye has a degree in Criminology and Security Studies from Salem University, Lokoja, Kogi State.
Phyna
Josephina Otabor aka Phyna won season 7 of the BBNaija 2022 aka Level Up with a cash prize worth NGN100 million in total, including a brand new G5T Jeep from Innoson Vehicles.
Phyna is the seventh winner of the show.
Whitemoney
Dubbed “Shine Ya Eye”, winner of Season 6, Hazel Oyeye Onou aka Whitemoney won the hearts of millions of watchers with his cooking skills.
He walked home NGN30 million cash and other prizes worth NGN60 million, including a two-bedroom apartment courtesy of RevolutionPlus Property, Innoson IVM G-40 SUV and bitcoins courtesy of Patricia among others.
After the show, Whitemoney was appointed an honorary member of the Liberia Senate. The governor of his home state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, in November 2021 also announced him as Enugu’s creative arts ambassador.
Born on July 6, 1992, the Enugu-born music star and ‘hustler’ on the streets of Lagos, he beat Cross, Angel, Cross, Emmanuel, and a Nigerian professional dancer Liquorose to be crowned the winner of season 6.
Laycon
Olamilekan Massoud Al-Khalifah Agbeleshebioba aka Laycon was born November 8, 1993. He is a songwriter, rapper and singer. He won Season 5 of Big Brother Naija on September 27, 2020, taking home NGN85 million grand prize.
The rapper walked home with a cash prize and other prizes worth millions of Naira. It was tagged “lockdown”. The 2020 BBNaija didn’t come to an end without some twists, including the disqualification of Erica who openly expressed her hatred for Laycon.
After the reality show, the Ogun-born rapper became a man everyone wants to associate with, featuring in several videos.
Some of the awards and honours he received included his appointment as the youth ambassador by the Ogun State governor Dapo Abiodun on October 6, 2020.
And in January 3 January 2021, he received a chieftaincy title from Ipokia, Ogun State, as the Akeweje of Ipokia Kingdom.
In 2014, he was among the ten artistes that performed at the 2014 Coke Studio University of Lagos event. He was also a top ten finalist of the 2017 MTV Base LSB challenge.
He released his first album on April 30, 2021, “Shall We Begin”
After the show, he continues to collaborate with fellow artistes and released singles including “Wagwan” and “New Dimension” among others.
Mercy
Season 4 of BBNaija 2019 remains one of the most interesting and hottest seasons to date, thanks to Mercy Eke, Tacha, and other ‘aggressive’ housemates who made the house really “Pepper Dem”.
One of the housemates Tacha becomes the first Housemate to be disqualified for assaulting a fellow housemate Mercy who eventually became the winner of Season 4
She took home NGN30 million cash prize and other prizes worth millions of Naira, thereby becoming the first lady to win BBNaija.
She revealed that she auditioned for Big Brother Naija four times before making to the house and winning.
Bio
Born on 29 September 1993, Mercy Eke is an actress, video vixen and social media influencer. She hails from Imo State. She is an alumnus of Imo State University.
After the show, Mercy aka ‘Lambo’ has won awards including Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Award for Best Dressed Female on March 14, 2020.
She has also featured in videos including Davido, Airboy’s song “Nawo Nawo and Ichaba’s single “Baby Mama”
Apart from becoming a brand ambassador and influencer, she has also featured in a movie titled, “Fate of Alakada”.
Miracle
Imo State-born Miracle Igbokwe was born on February 17, 1995. The Nigerian pilot won season 3 of BBNaija dubbed “Double Wahala” in April 22, 2018.
Miracle who walked home with NGN25 cash also got other prizes including a brand new Hyundai SUV, and a trip to an exotic location for two people.
The S3 of the reality tv show started on January 28, 2018, and came to an end on the 22nd of April, 2018.
Post-BBNaija Life
Eight days after the end of the show, the governor of Imo State at the time Senator Rochas Okorocha appointed him as the ambassador of education. In 2019, Miracle graduated from an aviation school in the US.
Michael Efe Ejeba
After a decade of break, the show returned in 2017, repackaged with excitement as new sets of sponsors were ready to pump in millions of Naira to leverage the huge audience of the show.
Dubbed “See Gobe”, Efe walked home with a cash prize of NGN25 million.
Efe Bio
Born on February 25, 1993, Michael Efe Ejeba is a native of the oil-rich state of Delta, South-South Nigeria. However, he was raised in Jos, Plateau state capital, where he obtained post-primary and higher education certificates.
Efe had been involved in music even as an undergraduate at the University of Jos.
Post-BBNaija Career:
After the show, the winner BBNaija Season 2 ventured into music and collaborated with Nigerian music sensation Olamide.
He was appointed in 2017 as an Ambassador of the entertainment and creative industry role in Plateau and Youth Ambassador by the Nigeria Ministry of Youth and sports.
He became the African Ambassador for Kalinga University, India, in 2018. He made the announcement on his Instagram handle @efemoney
Katung
Katung Aduwak is the pioneer winner of Big Brother Nigeria in 2006. It was called Big Brother Nigeria back then before the name was refined and shortened.
After weeks in the house, in the first edition of Big Brother Nigeria which was hosted by Michelle Dede and Olisa Adibua, Katung emerged victorious carting home the grand prize worth $100,000, becoming the pioneer winner of the BBNaija.
Katung Bio
Katung Aduwak who hails from Zonkwa part of Kaduna State, North West geopolitical zone of Nigeria, was born on March 21, 1980. He is a producer, scriptwriter and director.
He studied Political Science and an alumnus of the prestigious Digital Film Academy in New York, United States. The Kaduna-born movie maker has a wide range of experiences in the entertainment and media industry
Apart from spending several years at MTV Base as a Senior Channel Manager, Katung was also the media panellist at the Harvard Africa Business School Forum.
In the Creative Sector, he was a Senior Creative Director at VIACOM International and Executive Director at Chocolate City.
Life after BBNaija
He was a graduate of Political Science at the time he participated in the reality show, but the desire to venture into the movie industry spurred him to proceed to the Digital Film Academy, New York, graduating with a directorial degree.
After his degree in filmmaking, Katung dived into filmmaking, featuring in several movies across the continent. His debut film Heaven’s Hell was officially released on May 10, 2019. It was directed by him.
The movie features several popular faces in the Nigerian movie industry including Bimbo Akintola; Hollywood and Nollywood Chet Anekwe, Fabian Lojede and Damilola Adegbite among other stars.
He has also directed and featured in several other movies. One of his popular movies “Not Supposed To Be Here” x-rays the conflict between the African diaspora and the African Americans.
Married to Raven Taylor-Aduwak, Katung is the Chief Executive Officer of One O Eight Media and African Partner for Campfire Media
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Featured image: Instagram