ENTERTAINMENT: Oloture – Mo Abudu reacts to Tobore allegations, makes revelations

 

Mo Abudu, Ebonylife CEO has reacted to accusations of copyright infringement by one Tobore Ovourie, over ‘Oloture’ movie.

Tobore Ovuorie had sometime last week accused Mo Abudu and the film’s producers of adapting her 2014 investigative report without getting her explicit permission.

Abudu, giving her side of the story on Instagram, said EbonyLife paid Premium times for the movie and also offered Tobore 5% out of cinema money for her contribution as a writer.

However, she warned that her production will not take likely threats from Tobore on media despite their earlier agreement.

She said: “Premium times said she cannot lay claim to the project, only Sam chronicles can claim copyright to the report, we do not take kindly to those saying otherwise.

“We dare not make a film without addressing rights and paying for them.

“In May 2019, we reached out to Tobore and granted her a private screening and offered her 5% of our cinema rights to go to her NGO . ‘Oloture’ was an important movie but due to COVID-19 we could not release it.

“A day after Oloture was released on Netflix in October 2020, Tobore sent us a message and made accusations making demands and threatening us.”

However, Mo Abudu explained that before the release of the movie, she had a cordial relationship with Tobore and even sent her some money for her father’s burial and so on.

She stressed that her relationship with Tobore suddenly changed after the release of Oloture and its success on Netflix.

Abudu mentioned that Tobore immediately changed towards her, hired a lawyer and demanded for payment of N2.5bn which has lingered till now.

“A month after Oloture was launched we got a letter from her lawyer demanding a whooping sum of N2.5bn which is not what we signed up for.

“We knew we did not infringe on her rights we settled all that before the movie. Her demands have become threatening, blackmailing .

“My relationship with Tobore immediately changed after the growing popularity of Oloture on Netflix.

“Let me state for the record ‘Oloture’ is a story inspired by true events involving situations created by script writers , several parts of the films were created however some parts were similar to Tobore’s life which is why she and premium times were given credits,” she added.

Mo Abudu urged the public to educate themselves on how the movie industry works before being judgemental.

“Tobore’s experience is what most ladies experience due to trafficking worldwide. I stand for integrity, we did not exploit Tobore and would not be intimidated but fight in court if necessary,” she concluded.

Atiku sends message to new Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s President-General, George Obiozor

 

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has urged Prof. George Obiozor, the newly-elected President-General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, 

to improve upon the cooperation between the group and other ethnic-social groups in the country.

Atiku, in a statement signed by him on Tuesday in Abuja, felicitated with Obiozor, advising him to ensure that the unity of the country was stronger and that peace reigns across Nigeria.

He also expressed optimism in Obiozor’s inter-personal skills and enough group dynamics experience for the job and to weather the storm.

Atiku said, “I’ve known Obiozor since his days as Director-General of Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, and a one-time Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States of America, Israel and Cyprus.

“I can attest to his brilliance, wisdom and experience, qualities that I’m confident will come to bear as he pilots the affairs of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

“I also take note of the “big shoes” left behind by Obiozor’s predecessor, Chief Nnia Nwodo, who elevated Ohanaeze Ndigbo to enviable heights such that he was appointed as the Coordinator of all the notable socio-cultural groups in the country.

“I know that Obiozor will tap into his experience.”

Atiku also prayed for God to grant Obiozor the needed wisdom, protection, strong character, strength, candour, maturity boldness, capacity and good health for the assignment.

Melania Trump breaks silence, condemns violence

 

United States First Lady, Melania Trump, on Monday condemned last week’s violent breach of Capitol Hill by supporters of her husband, President Donald Trump.

The president’s wife also urged Americans to “take a moment, pause, and look at things from all perspectives.”

In a statement released by the White House, Melania said she was “disappointed and disheartened” by the incident that drew global outrage.

She said, “Make no mistake about it, I absolutely condemn the violence that has occurred on our Nation’s Capitol. Violence is never acceptable.

“I implore people to stop the violence, never make assumptions based on the colour of a person’s skin or use differing political ideologies as a basis for aggression and viciousness.”

Melania also dismissed “false and misleading accusations” against her from some unidentified people, who she said were seeking to be relevant.

“This time is solely about healing our country and its citizens. It should not be used for personal gain,” she said.

She thanked millions of Americans who supported the Trump presidency over the past four years, saying it was the honour of her life to serve as the country’s First Lady.

Vice President Mike Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the Nov. 3 presidential elections when armed Trump supporters stormed the building, forcing a shutdown.

Five persons died in the incident for which the president is facing another threat of impeachment from the House of Representatives for allegedly inciting it.

The outgoing First Lady said she was saddened by the deaths, and expressed her condolences to the families of the victims.

EPL,Best player’ in Premier League for 2020 revealed

 

Former Liverpool striker, John Aldridge has named “flawless” Fabinho as the “best player” in the Premier League for 2020.

He also believes that Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, Tottenham’s Heung-min Son and Jordan Henderson were among the stars to shine brightly last year.

While Henderson captained Liverpool to their first EPL title in 30 years, Son performed incredibly well for Tottenham while Fernandes has become a talismanic presence at Old Trafford.

Manchester City attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was named the PFA Player of the Year 2020 while Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy continue to bang in the goals.

However, Aldridge sees Liverpool’s Fabinho to be deserving of the biggest player title.

He told Sunday World: “There was a lot of debate over who was the best player of 2020 and Jordan Henderson got a few nominations, but I’d be tempted to select another Liverpool player for that prize.

“Bruno Fernandes has been superb since he arrived at Manchester United in January and the Tottenham duo of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min have been top class.

“Yet when I look at a player who has been most influential in the best team in the land, my focus falls on Liverpool’s flawless maestro, Fabinho.

“He took some time to find his feet at Liverpool, but Fabinho’s importance to Jurgen Klopp’s side has been highlighted time and again in recent months.”

Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona’s squad to face Real Sociedad confirmed

 

Barcelona’s squad to face Real Sociedad in Wednesday’s Spanish Super Cup semi-final tie has been revealed.

Barcelona coach, Ronald Koeman, named a 21-man squad on Monday to tackle Real Sociedad at the Nuevo Arcángel stadium in Córdoba.

Koeman’s men head to the game following a 4-0 win over Granada in the La Liga on Sunday.

Barcelona’s squad against Real Sociedad: Ter Stegen, Dest, R. Araujo, Sergio, Griezmann, Pjanic, Braithwaite, Messi, O. Dembélé, Riqui Puig, Neto, Lenglet, Pedri, Trincao, Jordi Alba, F. De Jong, Umititi, Junior, Iñaki Peña, Ilaix and O. Mingueza.

Piqué, Coutinho, S. Roberto and Ansu Fati are all still out due to injury.

The kick-off time for Barcelona vs Real Sociedad is 9 pm, Nigerian time.

NEWS : Angry mob roasts three suspected thieves to death in Cross River

 

Angry mob has roasted three suspected thieves to death at different locations in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State.

The incidents, which took place in the early hours of Monday, occurred at different locations in Calabar South Local Government Area of the state.

One occurred at Atu by Palm Street, another at Mayne Avenue by Inyang while the third person was burnt at EfioAnwan Street at Anantigha, all in Calabar South.

 reporter, who moved round the local government area (Calabar South), observed that the suspects were burnt beyond recognition by the mob who hanged old vehicle tyres across their necks, poured petrol and set them ablaze.

It was gathered that one of the suspected thieves who operated at different location, was caught and brought to Atu by Palm Street where he lived and burnt to death.

It was alleged that he used master key to break into people’s houses and shops to steal.

“You can see the keys beside his burnt body,” a resident of the area pointed it out to our reporter.

Sadly, for the one at Mayne Avenue by Inyang, a Keke Napep (tricycle) driver who did not give his name said: “The suspect used to drive Keke Napep, suddenly he stopped. I don’t know that he has gone into stealing.

“The economy is hard but stealing is not the best option. Just look at the way he died, so bad. He was struggling, so they broke his legs, before putting tyres on him and lighting the fire,” a witness lamented.

The third incident that occurred at EfioAnwan, residents said: “He stays around here and still goes about stealing around here.

 So, the people said it was too much and decided to end his life since whenever he is arrested by the police, he will come out, boasting and still continue with his stealing – disturbing the neighbourhood”.

When contacted via Phone on Monday, DSP Irene Ugbo, Police Public Relations Officer, Cross River State Command, 

confirmed the incidents and said she had earlier warned against mob attack as it was not unlawful, noting that the Command had asked residents to report such in incident to the Police.

“Residents should avoid jungle justice, it is not healthy for our development, economically, socially and politically, we should report such incident to the Police and watch what we are going to do, people should have confident on us,” she stressed.

SPORT : FA Cup, Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea know fourth round opponents

 

All the clubs left in the FA Cup after the third round, will discover their next opponents by Monday night.

It will be a double draw, as both the ties for the fourth and fifth round will be conducted.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will be in the hat.

Also, there will be League Two side, Crawley Town who shocked Leeds 3-0 on Sunday.

The draw is scheduled to take place from 7.10pm GMT on Monday, January 11, 2021.

The FA Cup fifth round draw will follow, with a scheduled start time of 7.23pm GMT.

The 16 fourth round ties will be played across the weekend of January 23 and 24. The eight fifth-round ties will be played on Wednesday, 10 February.