12th January, 2021
By Nimot Adetola Sulaimon
Mo Abudu, the Chief Executive Officer of EbonyLife Films, has responded to copyright infringement allegations levelled against her by Tobore Mit-Ovuorie, an investigative journalist.
Recall that in 2019, Oloture, an expose on human/sex trafficking, was released in collaboration with Netflix Inc.
Tobore has accused the entire cast and crew of Oloture, EbonyLife Films of copyright infringement, stating that Oloture was a movie made from her story. On Twitter, she shared thread after thread of tweets accusing the film’s producers of adapting her 2014 investigative report without getting her express permission a claim EbonyLife CEO Mo Abudu has repeatedly denied.
Abudu, however, reinstated that Oloture is a work of fiction and was inspired by a variety of true events.
In the video released on her Instagram page, Abudu acknowledged that before the release of Oloture, Tobore was duly notified and was given a private screening. Additionally, Tobore was promised five percent of the films’ gains.
After an earlier official statement, Abudu again wrote; ”Good morning, I would like to take a few minutes of your time today to shed some light on the recent allegations of copyright infringement made by investigative reporter Tobore Ovuorie against EbonyLife Films in relation to Oloture (the movie).
”Please note that this recording is made available to all for information purposes only and we will therefore not be making comments or answering questions on this video release.
”I also stand as a mentor to so many young girls and ladies, I never want to disappoint any of you, so again, I did this to give you all an understanding of the situation. Thank you for taking the time to listen.
Please watch the video below