The family of late Ibadan politician Lamidi Adedibu and filmmaker Seun Oloketuyi are at odds over a new biopic, ‘Adedibu: Alagbara Ibadan‘.
Produced by Oloketuyi under Ultimate Communications and directed by Abiodun Jimoh, the film traces Adedibu’s life, political ascent, relationships, and influence in Oyo state.
Administrators of Adedibu’s estate wrote on October 5, through lawyers, accusing the filmmakers of producing the film without consulting or securing the family’s consent.
The letter claims the biopic peddles “grave untruths, fabrications and sensational falsehoods” about Adedibu’s private life and political career.
The family objected to how the film depicts his early years, bedroom, family life, and personal lifestyle, saying it paints him as “morally bankrupt”.
It also took issue with claims that he rigged elections through violence, used “amala politics” to subjugate Ibadan residents, and served as a “puppet of doom,” calling these malicious distortions of his legacy as a “grassroots mobiliser”.
The lawyers further alleged that the filmmakers neither interviewed family members nor accessed the family’s archives. They also claimed that images, voice recordings and private family photographs were used without permission.
The family demanded the immediate removal of the film and all its excerpts, clips and reuploads from YouTube and other social media platforms.
It also asked the producer to preserve all raw footage, sources and scripts, and to refrain from producing another documentary, film, skit or social media post about Adedibu without the written consent of the estate’s administrators.
The lawyers demanded that Oloketuyi publish a three-minute apology on the same YouTube channel, pin it for 30 days and publish another apology in the Nigerian Tribune within seven days.
They also demanded N500 million in aggravated damages over what they described as an invasion of privacy, false light and injury to the family’s reputation.
The family gave the producer 48 hours from the receipt of the letter to comply with its demands.
It threatened to submit privacy and defamation complaints to YouTube, petition the inspector general of police’s cybercrime unit and institute legal proceedings at the Oyo state high court if he failed to do so.
According to the letter, the proposed court action would seek N1 billion in damages and a perpetual injunction restraining the filmmaker, his agents and privies from further publication.
In a response dated October 7, the producer’s lawyers rejected the family’s allegations and demands.
They argued that the family’s letter did not identify any specific statement in the film alleged to be false or provide timestamps and evidence contradicting the disputed portrayals.
“The video referred to by you is a retelling of the public life and political career of a man who, by every account, was one of the most prominent, most discussed and most documented political figures in the history of Ibadan, Oyo State and South-West Nigeria,” the letter reads.
They maintained that newspapers and magazines had previously reported the events portrayed in the film, while books, academic publications, broadcast programmes, documentaries and public debates had also examined them.
“Every fact depicted in the video is in the public domain,” the response stated.
The producer’s lawyers argued that Nigerian law generally does not require filmmakers to obtain permission from the relatives of a deceased public figure before producing a historical or political account of that person.
However, they distinguished family consent from any copyright or proprietary rights that might exist over individual photographs, recordings or other protected materials.
They said the production relied on materials obtained from publicly accessible sources to compile a historical account of matters already in the public record, arguing that the family had not identified any photograph, recording or other material over which it held an enforceable proprietary right.
The lawyers also rejected the privacy allegations, maintaining that the film focused on Adedibu’s career and political conduct rather than the private information of his surviving relatives.
They said the production did not disclose family members’ addresses, contact details, identity numbers, medical records or similar private information.
The lawyers also disputed the family’s standing to sue over the alleged defamation of a deceased person, arguing that none of the contested statements referred personally to the surviving relatives.
These arguments remain untested in court.
Despite rejecting the removal and compensation demands, the filmmakers offered the family an opportunity to identify any information it considered inaccurate.
They asked the family to provide, within seven days, the precise statements being disputed, their timestamps, their alleged meanings and documentary evidence showing that they were false.
They also requested proof that the lawyers had the authority and legal standing to represent all the parties identified as their clients.
The filmmakers said they would consider any specific and properly supported complaint in good faith but warned that they would defend the production against legal action.
They added that they would submit a counter-notification if the family filed a complaint with YouTube.
According to the response, the producer would seek compensation for lost revenue, audience, goodwill and reputational damage if the film were removed based on what he considered untrue assertions.
In a separate public notice, Ultimate Communications addressed claims circulating online that it had solicited money to produce the biopic.
The company denied requesting funds from any person or organisation before or after the production, describing any contrary claim as “false and misleading”.
It said the material containing the allegations had been documented and referred to its lawyers, who would consider appropriate legal action against anyone publishing or circulating allegedly defamatory claims about the company.
Ultimate Communications described ‘Adedibu: Alagbara Ibadan’ as a tribute to an iconic political figure, adding that the film was created to share Adedibu’s story.
The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) subsequently classified and approved the film.
A classification certificate issued by the board and seen by TheCable Lifestyle identifies the title as ‘Adedibu’, names Oloketuyi as the producer and gives it a 15 rating, meaning it is not suitable for viewers below the age of 15.
The certificate, numbered 061286, was dated October 8.
Source: The Cable
