Nigerian media mogul Mo Abudu has come forward with a video to clear up all the confusion regarding the copyright allegation by former Premium times reporter Tobore Ovuorie against EbonyLife Films in relation to the Netflix movie Oloture.
Oloture, which follows an investigative reporter who goes too deep into the seedy world of sex trafficking; drew inspiration from the report Inside Nigeria’s Ruthless Human Trafficking Mafia by Ovuorie for Premium Times back in 2014. Abudu’s EbonyLife bought the rights to name the story into a movie and hired a team of writers to make Oloture.
However, Ovuorie has claimed that the movie heavily plagiarises her life. As such, she is demanding compensation to the tune of $5 million (₦2.5 billion). She then released an emotionally provocative video accusing Mo Abudu and Kenneth Gyang of copying and pasting her story; as well as barring her from benefitting from it.
Ovuorie further claimed that they went to Netflix behind her back; without her express permission. She claims that they did not show her the full movie and she only saw it on Netflix.
Watch her video below:
However, Mo Abudu revealed in her video that there is no copyright infringement in the case of Oloture and she is legally and morally within her rights. Abudu says EbonyLife acquired the rights to the movie and she had several conversations with Ovuorie. The talk show host claimed that she was completely open with the journalist; even aiding her after the death of her father.
Abudu claims that she invited Ovuorie to the screening; that she was fully informed of the Netflix acquisition of the movie. She also revealed that contrary to the allegations, Ovuorie cannot lay claim to the report; as it belongs to Premium Times and ZAM Chronicles based on Nigeria’s copyright law.
Mo Abudu also revealed that she and Kenneth Gyang, the film’s director have been repeatedly harassed by Ovuorie online. She called Ovuorie’s demands “threatening, blackmailing, and extortionist in nature”.
She also decried the plagiarism accusations; saying there were many details about the plot and characters that were not in Ovuorie’s original story. In her words, “Oloture can never be Tobore’s life story, as she has claimed. Indeed, many women around the world that are trafficked to Italy have similar stories.”
“Please, let us educate ourselves in how the movie industry works and how stories are developed,” Abudu continued. “Oloture was made by a team of over a hundred people, including researchers, writers, producers, directors, editors, actors, and crew.”
She added, “If there is one thing I stand for, it is integrity. It’s about working hard and always standing up for what I believe in. We do what we do because we love what we do. My entire team know me and many out there know me too. We have not exploited Tobore or anyone else and we will not be exploited by anyone.”
Watch the full video below:
The two stories have many discrepancies and many have already made their judgments. Listen to both sides of the story and share your thoughts in the comment section below.