Nollywood actress and filmmaker Iyabo Ojo has accused a Ghanaian television station, North East TV, of illegally broadcasting her newly released film, The Memory of You Part 2, without her permission.
The actress made the allegation in a video shared on her official X (formerly Twitter) account, claiming the station aired the concluding part of the movie less than 24 hours after it premiered on her official YouTube channel.
According to Iyabo Ojo, neither she nor her production team authorised the television station to broadcast the film, and no licensing agreement was reached before it was aired.
“I didn’t give you permission. I don’t know you,” she said while expressing frustration over the alleged unauthorised broadcast.
The actress questioned why a television station would download a movie from YouTube and air it on television while generating revenue from content it did not produce.
Filmmakers losing revenue
Iyabo Ojo explained that producing a movie requires significant financial investment, including payments for actors, directors, production crews, filming locations, costumes, makeup, accommodation, transportation and post-production.
She argued that when television stations broadcast films without permission, they reduce the number of viewers watching the movies on legitimate platforms such as YouTube, where producers rely on advertising revenue to recover production costs.
The actress warned North East TV and any other broadcaster against airing any of her productions without obtaining proper authorisation.
Calls for government intervention
Iyabo Ojo appealed to Ghanaian authorities to investigate the matter and take decisive action against television stations found guilty of copyright infringement.
She specifically called on the:
- National Film Authority (NFA)
- Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations
- President of Ghana
to strengthen the enforcement of copyright laws and protect filmmakers from piracy.
The actress questioned why African broadcasters would undermine fellow African creatives by illegally using their content instead of supporting the growth of the continent’s film industry.
Growing concerns over Nollywood piracy
Iyabo Ojo’s complaint is the latest in a series of allegations made by Nigerian filmmakers against some Ghanaian television stations over the unauthorised broadcast of Nollywood productions.
Recently, actress Bimbo Adebayo and filmmaker Uchenna Mbunabo also accused some broadcasters of downloading their movies from online platforms and airing them without obtaining licences or compensating producers.
Following those complaints, Ghana’s National Film Authority (NFA) acknowledged the problem and announced plans to collaborate with the National Communications Authority (NCA), the National Media Commission (NMC) and other stakeholders to strengthen copyright enforcement.
The NFA has proposed tougher sanctions for offending broadcasters, including financial penalties, temporary licence suspensions and the possible revocation of broadcasting licences for repeat offenders.
However, Iyabo Ojo’s latest allegations suggest that the issue remains unresolved, despite ongoing efforts by regulators to address copyright violations.
Her complaint is expected to intensify calls for stronger protection of intellectual property rights and stricter enforcement of copyright laws to safeguard filmmakers across Africa and ensure creators are fairly compensated for their work.
