The Adedibu family wants the film pulled within 72 hours, but the producer says there is no reason to take it down.
Filmmaker Seun Oloketuyi has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, over alleged threats to his life. The petition, dated 16 October, was submitted through his lawyer, Ememabasi Umoeka of ASALAW LP. It names Bose Adedibu, a member of the Adedibu family, as a suspect and asks police to look into other relatives.
The row is over Adedibu: Alagbara Ibadan, a YouTube biopic of Lamidi Adedibu, the Ibadan politician who died on 11 June 2008. Oloketuyi produced the film through Ultimate Communications, and Abiodun Jimoh is the director. Lere Paimo plays Adedibu, and the film has 822,000 YouTube views.
The Adedibu family says the film was made without its consent and misrepresents the politician's private life and career. It wants the film removed, a public apology and N500 million in damages. Oloketuyi's lawyers rejected those demands and argued that the film drew on publicly available information. Those lawyers were willing to re-examine certain statements that the family viewed as incorrect.
In a letter dated 12 October, the family's lawyers, Blossom Chambers, called that reply "condescending and legally flawed". The letter also states: "Truth is our defence. We have not published anything false about your client."
The family gave Oloketuyi 72 hours to take the film down, disclose the source of what it calls private information, and provide a full account of its YouTube earnings from 3 October. If he does not comply, the family says it will complain to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission and the Nigerian Copyright Commission. It also says it will send YouTube a counter-notification.
The petition describes threats from the other side. Oloketuyi says he has received calls from private numbers telling him to take the film down or be harmed. Umoeka says the suspect and her relatives have used social media to call his client a thief, scammer, fraud and criminal. He cited Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015, as amended, which covers messages sent to bully, threaten or harass. The petition asks for an investigation by the NPF National Cybercrime Centre and the Force Criminal Investigation Department, security for Oloketuyi, and questioning of the suspect and the family members involved. These are the petitioner's allegations.
Speaking to ARISE News on Sunday, Oloketuyi said his team was ready to defend the film in court. He said it had complied with the relevant legal requirements before release. "We made it clear to them that we have done everything that we have done legally," he said.
Asked whether he would take the film down after the family's demands, he was firm:
"There's no reason to take it down."
The producer said he hoped the dispute would not drag on in court. The family has said it will go to the Oyo State High Court if its demands are not met.
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