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By Zika Bobby, Lagos
Stakeholders in Nollywood are upset following the events of June 18 where an actress, Chioma Toplis, was arrested and whisked away on the orders of an Umuahia-based socialite and businessman.
The incident generally being regarded as an ‘abduction’ in Nollywood, has led to series of consultations, with the aim of raising a team of industry professionals, who will make official complaints to the Presidency as well as the relevant security agencies. Nollywood sources disclosed that the anger is borne out of the way the security agencies allowed themselves to be manipulated into embarking on an illegal trip, which led to the actress being detained under inhuman conditions, in spite of her health status.
‘We are meeting over that and hope to use this to stop all forms of molestation of our members by whosoever. We are officially taking the matter to the highest authority in the land and hope this will send the signal that actors are responsible professionals who cannot be cajoled,’ a source said.
The actress, Chioma Toplis, said in an interview that she has been living in apprehension following the incident and demands that the Umuahia Chief be made by the authorities to sign an undertaking not to harm her or any of her siblings.
According to the actress, she had been getting reports of plans to raid her home in Lagos but had responded with a petition to the Inspector General of Police before the incidents of June 18, where some men stormed her fashion outfit to whisk her away without a warrant.
‘They asked for my ID card, and phones which they seized. I begged to call my lawyer or my family but they refused. When I asked where they were taking me, they said Ikeja. At the IRT premises, they took me to one confined office outside their main office. They told me that their boss was coming to tell me what I did. People did not know where I was. My colleagues contacted the CP of Lagos, who confirmed there was no record of me and this caused so much panic because everyone concluded I had been kidnapped. When I spoke to their boss on the phone, he was harsh to me and instructed that I must cooperate or risk being handcuffed and humiliated as they prepared to take me to the airport. Before then my legs were swollen because I had been sitting for over 11 hours. I told them that I needed my medication, but they ignored me. I was flown to Owerri, before being driven to Umuahia. By this time, my health was deteriorating. At the Umuahia Police headquarters, Zone 9, I was interviewed and luckily, there was no evidence against me, leading to the matter being transferred to IRT Office of the IGP in Abuja,’ she said.
