Produced and directed by filmmaker Joanna Lipper, the film won the Gucci Tribeca Spotlighting Women Documentary Award, was named Best Documentary at the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF), and is currently nominated for an African Movie Academy Award (AMAA) - Best Documentary, and nominated for the Grierson Awards - Best Historical Documentary.

In 1993, Nigeria elected M.K.O. Abiola as president in a historic democratic vote that promised to end years of military dictatorship. Shortly after the election, Abiola’s victory was annulled. General Sani Abacha seized power in a military coup and arrested M.K.O Abiola. During her husband’s incarceration, M.K.O Abiola’s wife, Kudirat, took over the leadership of the pro-democracy movement, organising strikes and marches and winning international attention for the Nigerian struggle. Because of this work, she too became a target and was assassinated.

Lipper explores past and present as she tells this deeply moving and intriguing story through the eyes of M.K.O and Kudirat Abiola’s eldest daughter, Hafsat Abiola, who was about to graduate from Harvard when her mother was murdered. Her father died in prison two years later under mysterious circumstances. Determined not to let her parents’ democratic ideals die with them, Hafsat returns to Nigeria after years in exile and is at the forefront of a progressive movement to empower women and dismantle the patriarchal structure of Nigerian society.

In this political thriller, the Abiola family’s intimate story unfolds against the epic backdrop of Nigeria’'s evolution from independence in 1960 - through the Biafra War, subsequent military dictatorships and the tumultuous transition to civilian rule - through President Goodluck Jonathan’s victory in the 2011 elections as Hafsat continues to face the challenge of transforming a corrupt culture of governance into a democracy capable of serving Nigeria's most marginalized population: women. 

Lipper combines daring reporting, exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes access shot during numerous trips to the unstable country with incredible, heart-stopping archival footage from some of the nation's most politically tumultuous, violent and corrupt periods during the past 50 years.

Lipper explains “I’m deeply honoured to be having our African Broadcast Premiere in 49 Countries on October 1st, a significant date which marks 55 years of Nigerian Independence. Following the recent pivotal election of President Muhammadu Buhari in Spring 2015, this is an ideal moment in time for viewers across the continent to contemplate Nigeria’s complex, historic, political evolution as a nation as well as an opportunity for me as a filmmaker to raise awareness and spark provocative discussions about women’s rights and political participation in present-day Nigeria.”

Click here to view a trailer of The Supreme Price.

AfriDocs screens every Thursday at 19:55 on [ED], channel 190 on DStv and GOtv Channel 65 across sub-Saharan Africa. It repeats on Sundays. 

For more information, visit www.afridocs.net. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.

For more information on The Supreme Price, visit www.thesupremeprice.com. Alternatively, connect on Facebook or on Twitter.