Police arrest five suspects over alleged piracy of Toyin Abraham’s Malaika

The police in Lagos have arrested five suspects over an alleged piracy of actress Toyin Abraham’s latest film Malaika.

The spokesperson for the Federal Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, Alagbon, Ikoyi Aminat Mayegun, paraded the suspects before newsmen at the FCID, Alagbon, on Tuesday.

Mayegun said that the suspects were allegedly involved in conspiracy, infringement on intellectual property, piracy and cyber-related crimes concerning the unlawful use of cyberspace to broadcast the movie.

She said on Thursday, a criminal complaint was lodged by Toyin and Seun Olayemi, co-producers of Malaika.

The petitioners claimed that some people had criminally pirated their latest movie, which was originally released for cinema viewing only on December 21, 2023.

According to her, the complainants alleged that their movie was unlawfully and fraudulently accessed, uploaded on a website and a streaming web link created for social media followers worldwide to freely view the movie.

The FCID spokesperson said that the complainants alleged that the suspects had infringed on their intellectual rights and were denying them their movie profits while unlawfully profiting from it.

“Following the receipt of the petition, a joint investigation involving the Special Investigation Units of the Anti-Fraud and Cybercrime Sections of the Department was launched, while the unique intelligence and cybercrime assets of the Force were optimally deployed,” she said.

The police spokesperson said that these initiatives, follow-up coordinated actions by detectives and further investigations on the case led to the arrest of the suspects.