This struggle will act as a deterrent to future offenders and is a fight for all those involved in the entertainment business. Don’t mess with the hard work people have invested so much money and time in!
Actress Toyin Abraham, of Nollywood, said on Tuesday that she experienced panic attacks and had been hospitalized on several occasions as a result of her film being pirated.
As the police in Lagos reported the apprehension of five individuals in connection with the illicit film “Malaika,” which cost N500 million to produce, Abraham talked with reporters.
AIG IG Idowu Owohunwa and the police in general were praised by Abraham, who said that she has joined the battle against pirates, for their arrest of the criminals.
The Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos, had earlier said that it had taken five suspects into custody, two of whom were women, in connection with the suspected movie piracy.
The suspects were paraded in front of reporters at the FCID, Alagbon, Lagos, by the department’s spokeswoman, ASP Aminat Mayegun.
Mayegun claimed that the accused were suspected of conspiring, violating intellectual property rights, piracy, and cybercrimes pertaining to the unauthorized use of the internet to distribute the film.
She said that Abraham and Seun Olayemi, the co-producers of “Malaika,” filed a criminal complaint on Thursday.
The petitioners claimed that some parts of their most recent film, which was first made available in theaters on December 21, 2023, had been unlawfully pirated.
She stated that the complainants claimed their film had been fraudulently and illegally obtained, published to a website, and a streaming online link had been made available for social media users all over the world to freely watch the film.
According to a representative for the FCID, the complainants claimed that the suspects had violated their intellectual property rights and were illegally making money off of the movie while denying them their earnings.
The Special Investigation Units of the Department’s Anti-Fraud and Cybercrime Sections jointly conducted a joint investigation after receiving the petition, she added, “while the Force’s unique intelligence and cybercrime assets were optimally deployed.”
According to a police spokesperson, the individuals were apprehended as a result of these activities, coordinated follow-up actions by crack detectives, and more casework.
Mayegun stated that Idowu Owohunwa, the AIG in charge of FCID Alagbon, has promised to stick with his strong will to work with the Nigerian Copyright Commission and the actors in the film business to remove criminal elements from the area.
The actress claims that everyone in the entertainment sector will profit from her taking up the battle against piracy.
