Nollywood actress and producer Mercy Johnson-Okojie has expressed outrage over the unauthorised broadcast of her movie The Firstborn by a Ghanaian television station.
In a strongly worded Instagram post on Monday, Johnson-Okojie called out Blazing TV, accusing the station of airing her film without any consent or licensing agreement.
She wrote:
“Ghana, Blazing TV. How is this even ok? Blazing TV in Ghana is showing my movie, The Firstborn, on their TV without my consent. How does this even make sense? How? I am speechless at the audacity of it all.”
Her reaction has again spotlighted the widespread problem of copyright infringement within the Nollywood industry and beyond.
Mercy Johnson’s concerns echo similar frustrations raised by other Nollywood stars. Recently, filmmaker Omoni Oboli threatened to escalate the issue to Ghana’s presidency, describing the continuous unauthorised use of Nigerian movies by Ghanaian TV stations as a national embarrassment.
Actress Bolaji Ogunmola has also issued strong warnings to content pirates, stressing the damage done to filmmakers’ livelihoods by such theft.
Earlier this year, Ghana’s Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Sam George, acknowledged the issue in response to Nigerian actress Bimbo Ademoye’s complaint. The minister promised that Ghana would uphold intellectual property rights and work more closely with Nigeria’s film industry to tackle illegal broadcasting.
Despite repeated assurances, many filmmakers believe more urgent action is needed to protect their intellectual property from exploitation.
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