Nigerian actress and filmmaker, Omoni Oboli is one of the many Nollywood stars who have voiced their worries about unauthorized usage of their intellectual property by certain Ghanaian television stations.
In a strongly worded Instagram post on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, the Nigerian filmmaker condemned the unauthorized broadcasting of her recently released film, “Twin Deception,” by certain Ghanaian television stations.
Omoni Oboli claimed that her movie, which debuted on her official YouTube account on Friday, was shown on a Ghanaian TV station that same day without obtaining consent from her.
“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 our movies, it’s utterly shameful,” she wrote.
Omoni Oboli said the piracy of her movie was not an isolated case, noting that she had been working quietly with some Ghanaian authorities to end the piracy.
However, she stated that now she is compelled to take a public stance, as the copyright situation appears to escalate.
“It was my birthday yesterday 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,” she shared.
She also rejected the idea that showing her movie without permission is a kind of promotion, calling it clear 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,” she stated.
Omoni Oboli went further to appeal to President John Dramani Mahama, whom she tagged in her post, calling on him to intervene in what she described as a growing embarrassment for Ghana.
“So, since it’s gotten to this stage, I believe Mr President, with all due respect sir, it’s time to weigh in. This has become an international embarrassment,” she stated.
Omoni Oboli’s comment comes shortly after her fellow Nollywood filmmaker Bimbo Ademoye also called out Ghanaian stations for a similar infringement on copyright and intellectual property in Ghana’s media space.
