Hank Anuku has dispelled rumours about him using hard drugs.

The veteran Nigerian actor, in a video trending on Instagram (IG), stressed that he has gotten into the habit of heavy drinking but “I don’t take hard drugs at all”.

Explaining his plight, he revealed he has experienced what he calls “a breaking point” where he has been “broken to pieces and I had to go drinking and that's it. Nothing else”.

Answering why he has taken to drinking, Anuku lamented it is “out of depression, out of not having a job for years, out of thinking about my children, their school fees and their welfare and a few other things.”

Hank Anuku, a slender movie star of a menacing height and voice made a name in Nollywood for playing a thug.

In the IG video, posted by an account (@ha1962anukuha) that appears to be the actor’s, he could be seen sitting in a sofa in a poorly lit room, as he earnestly appealed for support for a film school named after him, HAFA: Hank Anuku Film Academy.

He indicated a site has been acquired for the project and, in fact, he currently lives on the site which his in Nigeria’s administrative and political capital, Abuja.

“My name is Hank Anuku, Nollywood actor.

“I know you must have heard about a lot of stuff. You know how we speak [about] one another. Some people say this and some people say that – like this, like that. Anyway, that's out of the way.

“Yes, depression makes me drink but I will never take hard drugs. I don't take hard drugs at all. I only have wines and that's it.

“Out of depression, out of not having a job for years, out of thinking about my children, their school fees and their welfare and a few other things. And you know what it's like when it gets to that point. I call it a breaking point. I was broken to pieces and I had to go drinking and that's it. Nothing else.

“Please, I have a film academy coming up here in Abuja and the land, we’ve just acquired, and I'm telling you it's called HAFA: Hank Anuku Film Academy.

“My manager MC Opole Allen and DGtv are behind my management system.

“I promise you all there that no dime will be lost. I am here in Abuja now to face this project and I live in the bush where the site is. Please support this beautiful venture.

“And I'm telling you with Hank you will never miss, you will never lose.

“We're winners, we win together other we're victorious together.

“Please listen to my manager MC Opole Allen tell you the rest of the story about this beautiful project and initiative.

“We love you man. Thank you,” Hank Anuku said in the social media video posted on Tuesday, November 21, 2023.