Omoni Oboli’s Movie Premiere interrupted on Grounds of Copyright
Nollywood actress cum producer, Omoni Oboli got what she did not bargain for, last Friday night, when the premiere of her much-talked about movie, “Okafor’s Law” was stopped following a court injunction.
Recall that sometime in September, last year, the actress was accused of copyright infringement by a Canadian-based Nigerian script writer, Jude Idada. But Omoni swept the accusation under the carpet as she went ahead to complete the movie and set dates for its movie premiere and cinema release. This infuriated the representatives of Jude Idada, who took the matter to court for copyright infringement and trademark violation.
Unfortunately, for Omoni, while the guests were already present for the premiere, it was announced that an injunction had been gotten to prevent the premiere of “Okafor’s Law” and also its release on March 31 with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants in the case, being Omoni Oboli, Dioni Visions and Filmone Distribution.
Addressing her guests at the botched premiere, the devastated actress broke down in tears as she insisted that she wrote the movie 100%. She said, “I’m so honoured that you’re all here today, thank you so much. Thank you for honoring me, thank you for your support over the years. Thank you for always being there when I call. It means so much to me, and I don’t take it for granted. “I was really looking forward to showing you the movie tonight. The movie screened at Toronto International Film Festival, Stockholm International Film Festival and in America, but all that is nothing if Nigerian people don’t see it. “Unfortunately, we can’t show the film tonight. At 5 pm, we got an injunction from the court not to show this film. I’m sure some of you heard some allegation sometime ago, but,my story, my script, my movie, was written 100% by me. You can take that to the bank.” However, despite the hitches, the event went on as planned, but without screening of the movie. Omoni and her guests had fun as if nothing happened. The premiere was graced by top Nollywood stars including, IK Ogbonna, Ini Edo, Uche Jombo, Kemi Lala Akindoju, Chioma Chukwuka, Ufuoma McDermott among others, When contacted, Jude Idada, who is currently shooting a movie in the country confirmed the incident, but refused to comment on it. According to him, his lawyers advised him, not to talk about the matter since it’s already in the court. “Let the law take it course,” Jude said.
