Nigerian actress and filmmaker Omoni Oboli is embroiled in a controversy following allegations of copyright infringement in her latest movie, ‘A Different Type of Love,’ released on her YouTube channel.
It is no longer news that many Nollywood actors and filmmakers are turning to YouTube to create, share, and earn from their films, benefiting from its global reach and freedom away from traditional media, cinemas and movie streaming platforms like Netflix.
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PREMIUM TIMES checks reveal that Omoni embraced this shift in 2023 with OmoniOboli TV. Since then, she’s gained 676,000 subscribers, 137.8 million views, and uploaded 462 videos, with weekly new movies.
Shortly after the actress recently released ‘A Different Type of Love,’ viewers and critics began drawing attention to its striking similarities with another YouTube film, ‘Hope Given,’ released in 2023.
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In response to the controversy, Omoni, known for “Being Mrs. Elliott” (2014) and “Wives on Strike (2016),” addressed the situation through an Instagram post, explaining her decision to take the movie down while investigations are ongoing.
The 46-year-old actress clarified that the screenplay for the film was commissioned by a scriptwriter and assured her audience that she was working with her legal team to resolve the issue.
The actress who starred in “The First Lady,” “The Figurine”, wrote, “Dear besties, we’ve received feedback that [the movie] bears a striking resemblance to another film on YouTube. As a channel committed to originality, we’ve decided to take down the movie while the situation is investigated.”
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One script, three films
This newspaper’s checks show that a pinned comment from SusanJimahTV on Omoni’s Instagram post alleged that the script had been previously sold to another YouTube channel under a different title.
The pinned comment reads, “Gooday, Ma’am @omonioboli, The script (A Different Type of Love) was sold to @Susanjimah in 2022 by @jayne_Nwanchukwu. It aired on Susan Jimah TV for over a year with the HOPE GIVEN title. It has also come to our notice that the same script has been given to another YouTube Channel again with a different title who just uploaded theirs yesterday. Jayne Nwachukwu hasn’t been reachable since yesterday. We applaud you for standing in the line of integrity.”
In response to the comment, actress Omoni said, “Thank You.”
In a separate post, Susan Jimah TV, the alleged original buyer of the script, further addressed the situation by reiterating its stance on copyright infringement regarding the movie Hope Given and alleged that two other producers used the same script and characters in 2024 without proper rights.
Their statement read: ‘‘It has been brought to our notice that one of our Movies Hope Given, written by one Jayne Nwachukwu in 2022, which has long been aired on Susan Jimah TV more than a year ago, was given to two other producers to produce (same scripts, characters, and same dialogues from start to finish) by the same writer in 2022.
‘‘We applaud Omoni Oboli TV for standing in the line of integrity by taking down the film and taking it up with the said Writer. We’re also using this medium to tell @NollyconnectTv to do the same, as this is copyright infringement. That being said. Please go to Susan Jimah TV to watch the Original Story – HOPE GIVEN, and see for yourself.”
Meanwhile, the alleged scriptwriter, Jayne Nwachukwu, has not responded to the allegations on the TV platform. Storyteller Creative Agency (a script-writing platform) has disassociated itself from Ms Nwachukwu, a 2022 alumni of the agency. The agency alleged that they only assisted the scriptwriter (Ms Nwachukwu) in selling her scripts to Susan Jimah TV out of “desperation” and were unaware of her “fraudulent intentions.”
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Netizens react
This revelation has sparked widespread reactions, with many raising concerns about recurring intellectual property violations and the enforcement of copyright laws in Nigeria’s creative sector. The controversy has also raised questions about the sustainability of Nollywood’s current production and distribution model, particularly its reliance on YouTube and the potential risks of copyright infringement.
Some critics pointed to the alleged reuse of a previously sold script as evidence of the lax standards that plague parts of the industry. Others called for creators to be more cautious when engaging collaborators, particularly scriptwriters, to prevent such situations.
Broader criticisms also emerged about the frequency of movie releases, particularly alleging that rapid YouTube production schedules often compromise quality.
Others lamented the proliferation of repetitive storylines and the industry’s increasing focus on profit over creativity.
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