Court Orders Seizure of Copies of Omoni Oboli’s Okafor’s Law; halts cinema’s release

The copyright infringement claims dogging Omoni Oboli’s movie “Okafor’s Law” came to a head with a court intervention in the matter. The Ikeja Federal Court presided over by Justice Ibrahim Buba ordered an Anton Piller directing the seizure of the said movie. The order also forbade the premiere of the movie on 31 March 2017 in all Nigeria’s cinema pending the hearing of the motion.2017.

The direction follows a lawsuit brought by Rancoteur Productions Ltd on behalf of a Canada-based Nigerian scriptwriter, Jude Idada, who claims a right to intellectual property of the movie, according to reports by the News Agency of Nigeria.

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The plaintiff, in its exparte application, had sought an order, restraining the premiere or release of the said film, as well as an Anton Piller order, seizing all copies of the infringing material. Joined as first, second and third defendants in the suit are Dioni Visions Entertainment, Omoni Oboli, and Filmone distribution respectively.

The court granted the request by the plaintiff and set aside March 29 to hear the motion.