Entertainment Business - January 13, 2021

Mo Abudu Rejects $5m Demand by Journalist who Accused ‘Oloture’ Producers of Property Theft

January 13, 2021

4 min read

EbonyLife TV founder, Mosunmola Abudu, popularly known as Mo Abudu, has responded to the copyright infringement allegations by Journalist, Tobore Ovuorie, who had in the past weeks called out Netflix and the producers of the popular movie, Oloture, on social media.

Ovuorie had claimed that Oloture is a ‘copy and paste’ story of her life of which she never got credit for. She has now demanded $5 million (N2.5bn) in compensation from the movie producers, EbonyLife Films. This move compelled Abudu to release a 10-minute video detailing her relationship with the journalist and how the story came about.

Just incase you are wondering who Tobore Ovuorie is, here is her calling Mo Abudu and others out for allegedly using her work without credit. https://t.co/nkLdq9J7xY

— Laolao (@itz_laolao) January 12, 2021

Abudu said the Oloture story, which chronicles the violent exploitation of women in Nigeria, was inspired by an investigative report written by Ovuorie and published on Premium Times, her former employer. This means the media company owns the copyright to the story.

The article written by Ovuorie was titled, Inside Nigeria’s Ruthless Human Trafficking Mafia and published on August 12, 2014, by Premium Times.

However, both Premium Times and Ovuorie were credited in the movie, and it did not end there.

According to Abudu, EbonyLife sought permission from Premium Times before filming the movie in the first place. And a correspondence between her and Ovuorie showed that she promised the journalist 5% cut from the movie’s cinema run, which according to the media mogul was a moral obligation and not necessarily Ovuorie’s right.

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Unfortunately, the movie never made it to the cinema due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was instead streamed on Netflix and has since generated local and international buzz.

In the video, Abudu, 56, said despite the fact that the movie was not shown in the cinema, she told Ovuorie that she would still give her the cash gift as promised. She mentioned how she sent the journalist some money after she heard of her father’s passing.

With the journalist still bent on getting what she believed she has earned, Abudu said she would not hesitate to take legal actions against her if need be. She also added that she’s open to dialogue and a peaceful resolution if Ovuorie lets her sense of reason win.

Watch Abudu’s response below: