Actress and filmmaker Omoni Oboli is fuming, and with good reason. The filmmaker took to Instagram to vent her frustration after discovering that Ghanaian TV stations allegedly aired her movie Twin Deception on the same day it premiered on her YouTube channel, without any permission or license.
While Omoni made it clear that she loves her Ghanaian audience and considers them family, she didn’t mince words when addressing what she described as outright theft. She wrote:
“I love my Ghanaian besties. I really do. Ghanaians are our cousins, and cousins don’t fight. We banter, but at the end of the day, it’s all love. You see this issue of Terrestrial Ghanaian TV stations showing out movies, it’s utterly shameful. My movie TWIN DECEPTION, released on my YouTube channel on Friday, was shown by TV stations the same Friday! I’m going straight to the Ghanaian President this time. Cos, this is now a disgrace!”
Omoni explained that although she had been quietly working with some Ghanaian agencies to curb the issue of unauthorized broadcasts, the situation has now spiraled beyond private diplomacy.
“Yesterday was my birthday, and I was having a chilled day at home, so I didn’t want to address this. The truth is, I have been working behind the scenes with some Ghanaian agencies to end this menace once and for all, but now it’s quite obvious that some people don’t even understand that it’s actual theft.”
“You are not promoting my film if you rip it off my YouTube channel (without licensing and permission) and show it on your TV station. You are stealing from me for your own personal gain. Do you get it now? There’s no world in which that is a good thing. It’s actually punishable by law. So since it’s gotten to this stage, I believe Mr President @officialjdmahama, sir, with all due respect, sir, it’s time to weigh in. This has become an international embarrassment. PS: I love my Ghanaian family, and I know you love me too. Let’s keep the love flowing.”
This comes on the heels of fellow Nigerian actress Bimbo Ademoye’s public rant over similar copyright infringement by Ghanaian TV stations. The backlash led to a response from Ghana’s Minister of Communication, Sam George, who promised to investigate and take appropriate action to protect intellectual property rights.
With two major Nigerian actresses now openly calling out the same issue, it’s clear that cross-border copyright infringement is becoming too loud to ignore.
By Ezinne Okorie.
