Novel writer plans to drag Nollywood producer to court

Novelist Ify Chiemeziem

Veteran Nollywood producer Reginald Ebere has been accused of intellectual property theft by one of Nigeria’s novelist, Ify Asia Chiemeziem.
Speaking with DailyTrust, Chiemeziem disclosed that the Nollywood producer has stolen the story in one of her e-books for
a film a recently produced. Adding that, while going through her facebook post on Saturday morning she got a message from one of her fans in the UK who disclosed that she just watched a Nollywood movie, Living with a Ghost that seemed to have ripped off the story in one of her books. She immediately checked for the movie online and claimed that from the synopsis, she knew it was similar to her novella, My Ghost Lover which was published in 2012.
Trying to settle disputes between both parties, veteran Nollywood producer and actor, Charles Novia disclosed that he knows Reginald Ebere to be an original writer who has penned popular Nollywood hit movies till date.
Charles Novia commented on Chiemeziem’s facebook post saying: “The Reginald Ebere I know is an original writer and director who has penned famous Nollywood hits since 1995 till date, among them the famous ‘Issakaba’ movies and many more which defined an era in the late 90s. I have to ask Ify if she indeed watched the movie in question and noticed similarities with her book. The Reginald I know personally is an intellectual and one of the founders of a few Nollywood institutions such as the Directors Guild of Nigeria. So, this accusation comes to me as a huge surprise as he has never been linked to anything of such but I suppose he would have something to say about this. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria. When Reginald Ebere surfaced on the scene, he sounded irritated that Ify had not taken it upon herself to table the issue before him but chose to go public with her allegations.”
In order to make peace reign, Chiemeziem further added that all she wants is for Reginald Ebere to clear his name or prove that he did not steal her work or else she is ready to take him to court.