The family of late Ibadan politician Lamidi Adedibu has challenged filmmaker Seun Oloketuyi over a biopic documenting the politician’s life and political career, demanding its removal and N500m in damages.
The film, titled Adedibu: Alagbara Ibadan, was produced by Oloketuyi under Ultimate Communications and directed by Abiodun Jimoh. It explores Adedibu’s early life, rise in politics, personal relationships and influence in Oyo State.
In a letter dated October 5, lawyers representing the administrators of Adedibu’s estate accused the filmmakers of producing the film without consulting the family or obtaining its consent.
The family alleged that the production contained “grave untruths, fabrications and sensational falsehoods” about the late politician’s private life and political activities.
It objected to the portrayal of his early years, bedroom, family relationships and lifestyle, arguing that the film presented him as “morally bankrupt”.
The estate’s representatives also disputed the film’s alleged portrayal of Adedibu as someone who rigged elections through violence, deployed “amala politics” to control Ibadan residents and operated as a “puppet of doom”.
The family described these depictions as malicious misrepresentations of his legacy as a “grassroots mobiliser”.
Its lawyers further claimed that the production team did not interview members of the family or consult its archives. They also alleged that photographs, voice recordings and private family images were used without authorisation.
Consequently, the family demanded that the film, alongside all excerpts, clips and reuploads, be removed immediately from YouTube and other social media platforms.
It also asked the producer to preserve all original footage, scripts and sources while refraining from making any further documentary, film, skit or social media content about Adedibu without written approval from the estate’s administrators.
The demands included a three-minute public apology from Oloketuyi on the same YouTube channel, with the video pinned for 30 days. The family also requested a separate apology in the Nigerian Tribune within seven days.
In addition to the N500m demand for what it described as aggravated damages, invasion of privacy, false light and injury to its reputation, the family gave the producer 48 hours from receipt of the letter to comply.
It threatened to report the matter to YouTube over alleged privacy and defamation violations, petition the Inspector-General of Police’s cybercrime unit and commence legal proceedings at the Oyo State High Court if its demands were not met.
According to the letter, the proposed lawsuit would seek N1bn in damages and a perpetual injunction preventing the filmmaker, his agents and privies from further publishing material about the late politician.
However, Oloketuyi’s lawyers rejected the allegations and demands in a response dated October 7.
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The lawyers argued that the family had failed to identify specific statements in the film it considered false, provide timestamps for the disputed portions or present evidence contradicting the 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 the events presented in the production had previously been discussed in newspapers and magazines and examined in books, academic publications, broadcast programmes, documentaries and public debates.
“Every fact depicted in the video is in the public domain,” the response stated.
The producer’s legal representatives further 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.
They, however, distinguished the question of family consent from any copyright or proprietary rights that might apply to particular photographs, recordings or other protected materials.
According to the lawyers, the film was assembled from publicly accessible materials to present a historical account of events already in the public record. They said 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 claims, arguing that the film centred on Adedibu’s political career and public conduct rather than confidential information about his surviving relatives.
They said the production did not reveal family members’ addresses, contact details, identity numbers, medical records or other comparable private information.
The response also challenged the family’s legal standing to sue over alleged defamation of a deceased person, arguing that the disputed statements did not personally refer to the surviving relatives.
The legal arguments have not been tested in court.
Despite rejecting the demands for the film’s removal and compensation, the producer’s lawyers invited the family to identify the specific portions it considered inaccurate.
They requested that the estate provide, within seven days, the disputed statements, their timestamps, the meanings attributed to them and documentary evidence showing why they were allegedly false.
The lawyers also sought proof that the representatives had the authority and legal standing to act for all the parties named as their clients.
They said the producer would consider any specific complaint supported by evidence in good faith but warned that he would defend the film against legal action.
The response added that Oloketuyi would submit a counter-notification if the family lodged a complaint with YouTube.
It further stated that the producer would seek compensation for lost revenue, audience, goodwill and reputational damage if the film were taken down because of what he considered untrue allegations.
Meanwhile, Ultimate Communications has separately denied claims circulating online that it solicited money to finance the biopic.
In a public notice, the company said it had not requested funds from any individual or organisation before or after the production, describing contrary claims as “false and misleading”.
It added that it had documented the material containing the allegations and referred it to its lawyers, who would consider appropriate legal action against those responsible for publishing or circulating claims it considered defamatory.
The company described Adedibu: Alagbara Ibadan as a tribute to an iconic political figure, saying the production was created to share his story.
The National Film and Video Censors Board subsequently classified and approved the film.
A certificate issued by the board and seen by TheCable Lifestyle lists the title as Adedibu, identifies Oloketuyi as the producer and assigns it a 15 rating, indicating that it is unsuitable for viewers below the age of 15.
The certificate, numbered 061286, was dated October 8.