- The rise of digital platforms and social media has made it easier for pirates to distribute copyrighted content, with many movies being released this season suffering from piracy
- Toyin Abraham, Jade Osiberu and other Nollywood producers have spoken out against movie piracy, which has cost them a fortune
- Netizens react to the movie producers' warning and outcry
This festive season has brought a wave of movie releases, from Everybody Loves Jenifa and Thin Line, to Alakada: Bad and Bougie and many other movies sparking excitement and entertainment for viewers.
However, the movie industry continues to grapple with infringement, costing producers significant losses. The rise of digital platforms and social media has made it easier than ever for pirates to distribute copyrighted content.
Numerous movies have been released this festive season, prompting Nigerian movie producers to intensify their fight against piracy by highlighting its damaging consequences.
Toyin Abraham, a prominent actress, recently took to social media @toyin_abraham to plead with fans to refrain from recording and sharing movies illegally. She said, “You can't be posting and recording film on tiktok, it is not nice please, we have distributors and people working on piracy things, I won't want them to come and meet anybody.”
She went on to explain that specialised agencies have been engaged to track and identify individuals involved in these unethical practices. Emphasising the importance of integrity, she warned that engaging in such behaviour would inevitably lead to embarrassment and reputational damage. Toyin strongly urged everyone to refrain from such practices to avoid these dire consequences.
Toyin’s appeal was echoed by fellow actors, Jade Osiberu and Deyemi Okanlawon, who condemned the widespread piracy of Nigerian films.
Osiberu wrote on posted on X: " Nigerians are wicked people sha, how do you record a new film and post it all on social media on the day of its release? Like why?"
Deyemi Okanlawon also took to Instagram to share his thoughts under Osiberu’s post. He said, “J I'm sorry ur also going thru this after putting in so much hard work & investment! The same ppl who will quickly insult us to streamers! Make baba God just help me grab one person, just one... as I said before "person wey toff and person wey share/buy from tiff, all Na tiff"
Nigerians react to appeals from Nigerian actors, producers
These appeals from movie producers stirred some emotions among social media users. Some expressed deep concern, while others responded with humorous reactions.
Here are some comments below:
@irawos_empire stated: “she dey beg now oook hope dey are seeing it oook, no b wen she take action dem go start to talk up and Dan😂😂.”
@dayborrsplace also commented: “most Nigerians no dey hear word until few are used as example.”
@ahronky posted: “but dis is not nice, dis ppl are spending billions to produce dis films”
@TimiBlaze posted: “It’s not a Nigerian thing, piracy happens all over the world, what we need are strong laws and enforcement against it; again that’s where the government comes into place.”
@iyke10417281 posted: ‘So sorry ma but Christmas in Lagos was madddd🔥 I did watch & download mine on nkiri”
@oluwadamilare_olayinka1 posted: “Seven door was pirated and I had the opportunity to watch it on telegram but I thought to myself why should I watch it from an authorized source. 7k is not too much for me to subscribe on my Netflix than to be part of pirates. We can never be rich if we don't stop to have poor man mentality. If you don't have money to watch, then don't watch period.”
@oluwafemi_odus posted: “No be our face one of the prominent filmmakers here post uncle femi's movie and ask who directed the movie? meanwhile he was watching on nija something (make I promote piracy) and least if he's not watching on that site let's assume he was just trying to call uncle femi's attention to it but on the other way round, isn't that a way of promoting piracy? why can't he chat him privately?
The point is let's look intrinsically into people(crew) handling the post production at least let's start from there.”
@missbooboolicious_ posted: “I have seen many clips on TikTok and I'm not even gingered to watch it again so I feel her pain”
@jaykodicot posted: “There should be stiff penalties for this enough to serve as a deterrent. It’s such a negative thing to do”
"You will be arrested," Funke Akindele warns potential pirates of ‘Everybody Loves Jenifa’
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that renowned Nollywood actress and director Funke Akindele has sent out a stern warning to potential pirates who might consider illegally distributing her highly anticipated new film, Everybody Loves Jenifa.
With her reputation on the line and a passionate dedication to her craft, Funke emphasised the serious consequences that could await anyone attempting to infringe upon her work.