Chinaza Uche in Nigerian Prince (Sheldon Chau/Vertical/AT&T/Tribeca)

One of the main protagonists of this atmospheric crime drama, Pius (Chinaza Uche), is clever enough to trick a hapless mark out of a bag full of cash in the very first scene. However, he balks at paying tribute to the local police chief, which proves to be a not-so-smart move, as the official tracks him down and demands a large sum of money to be paid within a few days.

The film, set in Lagos, Nigeria, also centers on a Nigerian-American teenager, Eze (Antonio J. Bell), who has just arrived for what he thinks will be a four-week stay with his Aunt Grace (a no-nonsense Tina Mba). However, it turns out that his parents, neither of whom are in-country, have sent him to stay for a full year, out of concern for the trouble he was getting into back stateside. Already horrified by the lack of Internet and reliable electricity in Grace’s home, Eze does not take this news very well. For her part, Grace, who views her nephew as soft and spoiled, expects him to go to school and not sit around the house all day; she isn’t playing around either, dumping a bucket of water on Eze to get him out of bed.

Gradually, it is revealed that Grace is Pius’s mother, although she warns Eze not to spend time with her son. However, that seems like an improbable plan given that Pius has a spare key to the house and drops in regularly. Despite a violent first confrontation, Eze begins hanging out with his cousin instead of attending school, and he asks to partner with him in order to raise enough money for a plane ticket back home. Pius, though, is hesitant to take Eze under his wing.

While it is possible that Pius feels some pangs of conscience when it comes to potentially corrupting his cousin, what also seems plausible is he is stringing Eze along in order to eventually con him. Either way, the screenplay, co-written by Faraday Okoro, who also directs and is Nigerian-American himself, keeps Pius’s cards close to his vest. Instead of introducing a typical master-student dynamic, for a time the narrative only intermittently brings Pius and Eze together, opting instead to follow Pius through various schemes.

Many of the best recent movies about con artists have benefited from charismatic lead actors who were seemingly always one step ahead of everyone else, including the audience. (Think David O. Russell’s American Hustle and Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven, for two recent examples.) But in the case of Pius, he may ooze charisma and confidence from the start, yet what becomes clear is that he is no match for the more powerful players in this corrupt city. Okoro wrings out as much suspense as possible, lulling viewers into thinking Pius might have a score on his hands, only to take it away in a sudden reversal of fortune.

There is good acting throughout, especially by Uche as Pius, whose vulnerability begins to show despite his bold front after an especially narrow escape. He falls into a state of half-crying, half-laughing with relief. Bell is also effective as a callow youth, who comes to realize that a taste of his cousin’s dangerous world may be all he can handle. Meanwhile, Bimbo Manuel is tremendous as Chief Smart, who projects fatherly concern one moment, and then does something absolutely cold-blooded the next. On the other hand, Mba makes a strong initial impression as Grace, but the character is given too little to do in the second half.

Okoro appears to be partial to medium shots, and in his hands Lagos is practically a character, albeit a dangerous one. Although picaresque backdrops such as Eze’s new school abound, most of the film is set in dilapidated and crumbling buildings, not to mention police stations and jails that have an ominous vibe. The two locations that stand out most strongly are a bustling outdoor market, which Okoro captures in all of its raucous glory, and a neon-lit underworld club that feels simultaneously seedy and alluring.

The film, made on a budget of just one million dollars through a grant from AT&T, the Tribeca Film Festival, and the Tribeca Film Institute, offers the familiar moral that crime does not pay. Nevertheless, Nigerian Prince stands out for its setting, making it a welcome addition to the crime movie pantheon.