Nollywood actor Taye Arimoro has rejected the suspension issued against him by the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN), and Association of Movie Producers (AMP), warning that he is prepared to file a ₦1 billion lawsuit if the decision is not reversed within 24 hours.
Arimoro’s reaction was conveyed in a strongly worded letter shared on Instagram on Tuesday by his lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, who described the actions of the guilds as illegal and unconstitutional.
According to the document, the guilds not only sanctioned the wrong person, naming him as “Taiye Ayimoro” instead of Taye Arimoro, but also lacked the legal authority to suspend him since he is not a registered member of any of the associations involved.
“The sanctions are procedurally improper, legally indefensible, and constitutionally void,” Effiong stated, insisting that no private body can “restrict the constitutional right of any Nigerian to freely associate or work.”
Arimoro is demanding three things:immediate and unconditional retraction of the joint findings and sanctions, a written apology to him and public dissemination of the retraction and apology through the same channels used to announce the suspension.
Failure to comply within 24 hours, the lawyer warned, would trigger a lawsuit seeking ₦1,000,000,000 in damages for “violation of his fundamental rights, unlawful interference with his acting career, reputational harm, procedural impropriety, and consequential economic losses.”
The suspension stems from a reported confrontation on November 11 during the filming of Pieces of Love. Arimoro claimed that after completing his scheduled call-time, actress and producer Peggy Ovire allegedly blocked his vehicle and insisted he remain on set for additional scenes.
He further alleged that he was “unlawfully detained, assaulted, and treated in a cruel, inhuman and degrading manner,” suffering emotional trauma, psychological stress, an injured lip, and a chipped tooth.
Peggy Ovire’s camp has denied the allegations. In their response, her legal team accused Arimoro of being the aggressor, alleging that he “punched the production manager and her driver,” and described his narrative as “misleading, selective, and materially false.”
After what they described as “investigations”, the AGN, DGN, and AMP jointly declared Arimoro the “main instigator of the incident.” They suspended him indefinitely and instructed him to issue a public apology and record a corrective video. Peggy was also ordered to apologize for escalating the issue beyond the set.
With both sides maintaining sharply different accounts, and Arimoro now threatening a massive lawsuit, the controversy appears far from over.