Nikolas Daniel Adegbajumo Omilana (/ˈnɪ.koʊ ɒ.mɪˈlɑː.nə/ NI-koh o-mi-LAH-nə; born 4 March 1998) is a British YouTuber and perennial political candidate. He is known for posting prank videos on YouTube and running as an independent candidate in the 2021 London mayoral election and the 2024 UK general election,[2] being unsuccessful in both elections. He is also known for being a part of the Beta Squad YouTube group. Omilana has also competed in several charity football matches, including Soccer Aid[3] and multiple Sidemen charity matches.
Niko Omilana | ||||||||||
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 Omilana in 2023 | ||||||||||
| Born | Nikolas Daniel Adegbajumo Omilana 4 March 1998 | |||||||||
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| Political party | Independent | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
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| Years active | 2011–present | |||||||||
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| Subscribers | 7.58 million[1] | |||||||||
| Total views | 632 million[1] | |||||||||
| Associated acts | ||||||||||
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Last updated: 10 July 2024 | ||||||||||
Early life and personal life
Nikolas Daniel Adegbajumo Omilana[4][5] was born on 4 March 1998[6] to an English mother and a Nigerian father.[7] After their divorce, Omilana grew up in Stafford, West Midlands.[8]
Omilana worked in small production for companies before going full-time as a YouTuber.[8] In 2021, Omilana lived in North London.[9]
YouTube career
2011–2017: Early career
Omilana created his YouTube account, "Niko Omilana", in June 2011. He uploaded his first video in 2014 and started uploading comedy skits, parody, and challenge videos.[10] In an interview in October 2019, he cited British YouTuber KSI as his inspiration to started making content on YouTube.[8]
2018–2020: Initial popularity and Beta Squad
In May 2018, Omilana went viral after he uploaded a video titled "UNDERCOVER As A RACIST For 24 HOURS" in which he went undercover as a racist to troll and mock supporters of a far-right organisation, the English Defence League (EDL), during their protest in Telford, Shropshire.[11][12][13] Later in December 2018, Omilana uploaded another prank video, continuing his previous EDL prank video, in which he trolled one of the co-founder of the EDL and far-right activist, Tommy Robinson, to promote Omilana's brand and merch, the NDL (Niko Defence League).[14][11]
In 2019, Omilana created and joined the Beta Squad, a British YouTube collective group, along with fellow British YouTubers Chunkz, AJ Shabeel, Sharky, and KingKennyTV. In February 2019, it was also announced that the group would be living together in a £4 million mansion in London, where they would create daily content for social media platforms.[15][16]
On 28 August 2019, he reached one million subscribers on YouTube.[17] In November 2019, Omilana went viral after he attempted to sneak into the KSI vs. Logan Paul II boxing re-match and enter the ring.[18][11] In December 2019, Omilana appeared on Business Insider's list of "20 YouTube channels you should really subscribe to in 2020".[19] In 2020, Omilana was nominated for a Shorty Award for Breakout YouTuber at the 12th Shorty Awards, losing to Alexandra Mary Hirschi.[20][21]
2021–present: Collaboration and continued growth
Omilana was the subject of controversy in 2022 due to a 2021 video showing conditions within a poultry farm. Animal rights activists investigated the same location two months later and found living conditions for chickens to be considerably worse than those depicted in Omilana's video. Omilana's agency said, “Whilst we take these allegations very seriously and will speak with KFC about these claims, the filming that our client took part in accurately reported the conditions he saw and experienced on the day.”[22]
In May 2022, Omilana went viral after he uploaded a video titled "I Pranked America's Most Racist Man", in which he disguised himself as a journalist for the BBC and travelled to Harrison, Arkansas, to prank Ku Klux Klan grand wizard, Thomas Robb into saying "BLM" (short for the anti-racist slogan "Black Lives Matter") on camera during a fake interview.[23][24][25]
In March 2023, Omilana collaborated with American YouTuber and prankster JiDion and created a prank series on YouTube called "The Biggest Menace", where they competed with each other to pull off as many pranks as they could in a bid to earn the title of "the biggest menace", with each episode uploaded on both Omilana's and JiDion's personal channels. They later attracted media attention after they uploaded an episode of the series called "We Pranked The Mona Lisa", in which Omilana challenged JiDion to sneak in a painting of himself right next to the Mona Lisa painting, which later caused JiDion to get arrested by the French police.[26][27][28]
In April 2023, Omilana was arrested and kicked by a police officer during an attempted visit to the disputed micronation of Liberland. The incident received coverage in Croatian and Serbian media.[29][30]
On 13 July 2024, Omilana appeared and participated in a MrBeast video titled "50 YouTubers Fight for $1,000,000".[31]
Electoral candidacies
In the 2021 London mayoral election, Omilana ran as an independent candidate.[32] Omilana received 49,628 votes in the election,[2] securing 2% of the total votes cast, making him the highest-placed independent candidate, beating out other popular independents Piers Corbyn, Laurence Fox, and Count Binface.[33][34] Among his campaign pledges, Omilana suggested turning McDonald's restaurants into social housing and removing the teeth of racists.[3] Omilana also attempted to run at the 2024 London mayoral election, but his nomination form was declared invalid.[35]
In the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Omilana received attention after candidates named "Niko Omilana" registered as candidates in at least 11 different constituencies,[35] prompting a police investigation as it is an offence to provide false information on nomination papers.[33][18] Standing as a candidate in more than one constituency is also an offence.[33][18] Omilana claims that he convinced people to legally change their names to "Niko Omilana" so that different candidates could stand under his name in several constituencies.[36] Each person standing as "Niko Omilana" were resident at a different address and had nomination papers that were signed by different members of the public.[35] Omilana himself stood in Richmond and Northallerton, where then-prime minister Rishi Sunak was the incumbent member of parliament.[33][36] He was able to obtain 160 votes.[37] During Sunak's concession speech, Omilana attracted media attention when he pranked Sunak by holding up a piece of paper with the letter "L" behind him, which referred to Sunak as a "Loser".[38][39]
Charity football matches
Omilana has participated in multiple charity football matches, starting with the 2022 Sidemen charity match, where Omilana scored twice at the 9th and 74th minute for team YouTube All Stars.[40] Next year, Omilana also played in the 2023 Sidemen charity match, scoring at the 86th minute for team YouTube All Stars.[41][42]
On 11 June 2023, Omilana participated in Soccer Aid 2023, a football charity match held at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, where he played for team World XI.[3]
On 2 June 2024, Omilana played and hosted a football charity match along with Beta Squad and American YouTube group AMP at Selhurst Park, London, England. The event raised money for The Water Project. Omilana scored one goal in the 82nd minute for Team Beta Squad before the match ended in a 6-6 draw after a pitch invasion forced the game to be called off.[43]
Filmography
Television
| Year(s) | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | The Wheel | Himself | Celebrity Expert | [44] |
Web
| Year(s) | Title | Role | Episodes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | The Biggest Menace | Himself | 7 | [26] |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | "Vibranium" | Chunkz feat. Neji | Himself | [45] |
Awards and nominations
| Ceremony | Year | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rated Awards | 2021 | Personality of the Year | Himself | Won | [46] |
| Shorty Awards | 2020 | Breakout YouTuber | Himself | Nominated | [21] |
Election history
| Mayor of London election 6 May 2021 | ||||||||
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| Party | Candidate | 1st round | 2nd round | 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round | ||||
| Total | Of round | Transfers | Total | Of round | ||||
| Labour | Sadiq Khan | 1,013,721 | 40.0% | 192,313 | 1,206,034 | 55.2% |
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| Conservative | Shaun Bailey | 893,051 | 35.3% | 84,550 | 977,601 | 44.8% |
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| Green | Siân Berry | 197,976 | 7.8% |
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| Liberal Democrats | Luisa Porritt | 111,716 | 4.4% |
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| Independent | Niko Omilana | 49,628 | 2.0% |
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| Reclaim | Laurence Fox | 47,634 | 1.9% |
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| London Real | Brian Rose | 31,111 | 1.2% |
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| Rejoin EU | Richard Hewison | 28,012 | 1.1% |
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| Count Binface | Count Binface | 24,775 | 1.0% |
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| Women's Equality | Mandu Reid | 21,182 | 0.8% |
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| Let London Live | Piers Corbyn | 20,604 | 0.8% |
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| Animal Welfare | Vanessa Hudson | 16,826 | 0.7% |
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| UKIP | Peter Gammons | 14,393 | 0.6% |
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| Independent | Farah London | 11,869 | 0.5% |
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| Heritage | David Kurten | 11,025 | 0.4% |
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| Independent | Nims Obunge | 9,682 | 0.4% |
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| SDP | Steve Kelleher | 8,764 | 0.3% |
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| Renew | Kam Balayev | 7,774 | 0.3% |
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| Independent | Max Fosh | 6,309 | 0.2% |
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| Burning Pink | Valerie Brown | 5,305 | 0.2% |
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| Labour hold | ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Rishi Sunak | 23,059 | 47.5 | −15.8 | |
| Labour | Tom Wilson | 10,874 | 22.4 | 6.0 | |
| Reform UK | Lee Taylor | 7,142 | 14.7 | New | |
| Liberal Democrats | Daniel Callaghan | 4,322 | 8.9 | −3.6 | |
| Green | Kevin Foster | 2,058 | 4.2 | 0.4 | |
| Count Binface Party | Count Binface | 308 | 0.6 | New | |
| Independent | Brian Richmond | 222 | 0.5 | New | |
| Independent | Niko Omilana | 160 | 0.3 | New | |
| Yorkshire | Rio Goldhammer | 132 | 0.3 | −1.8 | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Sir Archibald Stanton | 99 | 0.2 | New | |
| Workers Party | Louise Dickens | 90 | 0.2 | New | |
| Independent | Angie Campion | 33 | 0.1 | New | |
| Independent | Jason Barnett | 27 | 0.1 | New | |
| Majority | 12,185 | ||||
| Turnout | 73,888 | 66 | −5.6 | ||
References
- ^ a b "About Niko Omilana". YouTube.
- ^ a b Nichol, Joshua (12 June 2024). "YouTuber announces he will take on Rishi Sunak in Richmond and Northallerton". the Northern Echo. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Coyle, Simon (11 June 2023). "Soccer Aid 2023: Who is Niko playing for World XI?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ Best Friend Test 2: Beta Squad Edition (Video). 22 July 2023. Event occurs at 13:44. Retrieved 24 July 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Dugmore, Oli. "Speaking to the man who went 'undercover as a racist' at an EDL march - JOE.co.uk". Joe. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ^ Omilana, Niko [@NikoOmilana] (4 March 2021). "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME ! Big 23 years of age, thank you for all your messages ❤️" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Barrand, Rochelle (13 June 2024). "Who is Niko Omilana? Youtuber and prankster who is apparently running for 2024 general election". NationalWorld. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Hale, James (17 October 2019). "Creators Going Pro: In February, 5 "Ordinary" YouTubers Joined Forces As 'Beta Squad.' Now, They Have Nearly 400K Subscribers". Tubefilter. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ Onibada, Ade (30 April 2021). "Meet Niko Omilana: The YouTuber Who Wants To Be The Mayor Of London". Buzzfeed News. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ "Niko Omilana". YouTube. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ a b c O'Dell, Liam (14 June 2024). "Who is election candidate Niko Omilana, and what YouTube pranks has he done?". Indy100. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ Waters, Lowenna (17 May 2018). "This man went 'undercover as a racist' with the EDL and made them look ridiculous". Indy100. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ Evans, Greg (23 August 2018). "YouTube prankster gets Tommy Robinson to endorse his EDL parody movement". Indy100. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ Waters, Lowenna (14 December 2018). "YouTube prankster trolled Tommy Robinson and the EDL in the most perfect way". Indy100. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ Blichert, Frederick (22 February 2019). "Studio71 UK to launch reality web series "Beta Squad" with YouTube creators". Realscreen. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ Weiss, Geoff (19 February 2019). "Studio71's Talent Management Unit Will Invite 5 Emerging Creators To Collaborate In London Mansion". Tubefilter. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ Omilana, Niko [@NikoOmilana] (28 August 2019). "1 MILLION i never thought this day would happen, this has been my dream since i was like 12 years old and im so thankful that it has become my job and to hit 1 million subscribers has blown me away, massive thank you to everyone who has helped and supported... BIG UP THE NDL ❤️" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 June 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c Gordon, Anna (13 June 2024). "YouTube Prankster Causing a Stir in U.K. General Election". TIME. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ Dodgson, Lindsay. "20 YouTube channels you should really subscribe to in 2020". Business Insider. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ "NIKO OMILANA Finalist in Breakout Youtuber". shortyawards.com. Shorty Awards. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ a b Perelli, Amanda. "Exclusive: The full list of nominees for the Shorty Awards, including Jeffree Star, Sophie Turner, and Baby Yoda Sipping Tea". Business Insider. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ Wasley, Andrew (12 April 2022). "KFC faces backlash over 'misleading' portrayal of UK chicken farming". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ Browning, Oliver (16 May 2022). YouTuber pranks KKK leader into saying 'BLM' during fake BBC interview. Retrieved 14 June 2024 – via Independent.
- ^ Brantley, Max (16 May 2022). "British comic punks KKK leader in Arkansas". Arkansas Times. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ Harrison, Rhodri (16 May 2022). "America's 'most racist man' has a Welsh flag at his church". www.walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ a b Glaze, Virginia (22 March 2023). "How to watch JiDion and Niko's 'The Biggest Menace' YouTube series". Dexerto. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ Sarkar, Shaomi (28 March 2023). "YouTuber Puts Up His Own Portrait Around the Mona Lisa in France's Louvre in Mega Prank". News18. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ Mather, Katie (29 March 2023). "YouTuber spends night in French jail after hanging fake portrait next to the 'Mona Lisa' for a prank: 'We're witnessing history'". Yahoo Life. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ Pavić, Filip (31 July 2023). "Veliki hit na Youtubeu: Pokušao ući u 'zabranjenu zemlju', pa dobio batine od naše policije!" (in Croatian). Jutarnji List. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Pokušao da uđe u "zabranjenu zemlju": Hrvatska policija pretukla Jutjubera VIDEO" (in Serbo-Croatian). B92. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ Brigstock, Jake (6 June 2024). "Who are all the influencers in MrBeast's 'biggest video ever'?". Indy100. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ "Niko Omilana: 'The system is broken for young people'". BBC. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d Rack, Susie (12 June 2024). "YouTuber named as candidate in 11 constituencies". BBC. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ Keith, James. "YouTuber Niko Omilana Managed To Come Fifth In London's Mayoral Elections". Complex. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Savage, Claudia (12 June 2024). "Police aware as 11 'Niko Omilanas' stand for election in 11 constituencies". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ a b Ajose, Daniel (28 June 2024). "YouTuber Niko 'got people to legally change their name' to appear on ballot in 11 constituencies". ITV News. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Richmond and Northallerton - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ Stolworthy, Jacob (5 July 2024). "Rishi Sunak falls victim to humiliating YouTube prank after losing election". The Independent. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "YouTuber holds 'L' sign behind Rishi Sunak". Sky News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Sidemen FC vs YouTube Allstars - live score, predicted lineups and H2H stats". FotMob. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "Sidemen FC vs YouTube Allstars - live score, predicted lineups and H2H stats". FotMob. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ Walker, Timothy (7 September 2022). "Sidemen charity football match: When is it, who is playing and how can I watch it?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
- ^ "Beta Squad vs AMP LIVE! Charity match abandoned after pitch invasion". Yahoo Sports. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ "Michael McIntyre reveals The Wheel's newest experts and teases a "Funny, dramatic, emotional" series". BBC Media Centre. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ "Chunkz X Neji - Vibranium (Official Video)". 16 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Nazareno, Mia (16 September 2021). "Jorja Smith, Central Cee & More Take Home 2021 GRM Rated Awards: Full Winners List". Billboard. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Statement of persons nominated for Richmond and Northallerton Constituency" (PDF). North Yorkshire Council. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.