Nollywood actress and filmmaker Yetunde Barnabas has hit back at a social media critic who blasted her new film, Ojise, accusing the woman of bullying, name-tarnishing and a paid attack on her work.
The clash started on Monday, October 5, 2026, after a woman known as Aje Funke, also tagged Ajefunke Kofoshi, posted an Instagram video criticising the movie. She questioned why Barnabas releases several films in a year, alleged that Ojise appeared copied from the work of another actress, Papaya, and asked who advises the producer before she greenlights a project. She also mocked a scene in which angels were shown cooking fried rice, and claimed Barnabas may have taken a sequel idea from a fan comment.
Barnabas did not treat the video as ordinary criticism. In a public post the same day, she said she had stayed quiet for long enough.
“I can no longer sit back and watch you people bully me, deliberately tarnish my name, attack my career and constantly discredit the work I have sacrificed so much to build.”
She named the critic directly and asked for the post to come down.
“Ajefunke Kofoshi, I am publicly asking you to take down the hateful post you made about me. I have committed no crime by being a filmmaker, by building my career, or by investing in my own projects.”
She then went further in a separate line shared with the complaint.
“I think I have had enough of social media bully. I will start with you Ajefunke_kofoshi. I know you have been paid to tarnish my work and my personality, but it will stop with you this time. I won’t let it go.”
The actress put a figure on the project she says is being rubbished.
“I produced OJISE with a ₦30 million budget, and I am proud of the work that went into it. I will not sit quietly while anyone deliberately tries to rubbish my name or discredit my work.”
What worried her more, she said, was talk of a coordinated campaign.
“What concerns me even more is discovering that there is allegedly a hate group created specifically to constantly attack me and tarnish every project I put out. I don’t know who is behind it, but I have been told that there are people saying they want me out of this industry. Maybe because I am part of the first set that monetized YouTube, but this is too much. I am stepping in with the authorities from this point henceforth.”
She closed by rejecting the criminal framing she says has followed the criticism.
“I am not a thief, I am not a criminal. I am a filmmaker, a producer, a businesswoman, and a woman who has worked incredibly hard for everything she has today. I will not apologize for my success.”
From this point, she said, she would protect her name, her career and the work she has built.
Ojise is a Yoruba drama she produced and released on her YouTube channel, Yetunde Barnabas TV, with a cast that includes Ibrahim Yekini, popularly known as Itele, Mide Martins and others. Days before the row, she had posted that cast and crew went into what she described as a trance on set, and called the film an experience rather than just a movie.
Fan comments under the critic’s video were mixed but often harsh on the films, with some saying they like Barnabas personally and still struggle with her movies. As of publication, there was no public reply from Aje Funke to the takedown demand.