16th January, 2024
By Moses Omorogieva
Nollywood actress, Toyin Abraham, said on Tuesday that piracy of her works had resulted in her having panic attacks and being hospitalised at various times.
Abraham spoke with newsmen in Lagos as the police announced that it had nabbed five suspects in relation to the piracy of her movie, ‘Malaika’.
She said that she spent about N500 million on the said movie.
The actress said that she had taken up the fight against those pirating people’s works for the benefit of everyone in the entertainment industry.
She commended the police, through AIG Idowu Owohunwa, for matching their words with action by arresting the suspects.
Earlier, the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, Ikoyi Lagos, said it had arrested five suspects, including two women, over the alleged piracy of the movie.
The spokesperson for the department, ASP Aminat Mayegun paraded the suspects before newsmen at the FCID, Alagbon, Lagos.
Mayegun said that the suspects were allegedly involved in conspiracy, infringement on the intellectual property, piracy and cyber-related crimes in relation to the unlawful utilisation of the cyberspace to broadcast the movie.
She said on Thursday, a criminal complaint was lodged by Abraham and Seun Olayemi, the co-producer of the movie titled ‘Malaika’.
Mayegun said that the petitioners alleged that some elements had criminally pirated their latest movie, which was originally released for cinema viewing only on Dec. 21, 2023.
According to her, the complainants alleged that the elements unlawfully and fraudulently accessed the movie, uploaded it on their website and created a streaming weblink for their social media followers worldwide to freely view the movie.
The spokesperson said that the complainants alleged that the suspects had infringed on their intellectual rights and were denying them of their movie profits while unlawfully profiting from it.
“Following the receipt of the petition, a joint investigation involving the Special Investigation Units of the Anti-Fraud and Cybercrime Sections of the Department was launched, while the unique intelligence and cybercrime assets of the Force were optimally deployed,” she said.
The spokesperson said that these initiatives, follow-up coordinated actions by crack detectives and further investigations on the case led to the arrest of the suspects.
Mayegun said AIG in-charge-of the FCID Alagbon, Mr Idowu Owohunwa, had assured of his firm determination to continue to collaborate with the movie industry actors and the Nigerian Copyright Commission to rid the space of criminal elements.