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If you missed AML’s podcast episode 30, you might want to
make sure to listen to it (above). As I predicted in that episode, this year we will see a rise in lawsuits in the Nigerian entertainment industry.
In my view, many Nigerians have a very bad habit of making false statements, publicly. Further, Nigerian culture as a whole can be quite an abusive culture. So, when someone makes a false statement about you and places it out there, they permit and open others to rain insults on you and worse, damage or attempt to damage your reputation. This particular situation is VERY common in Nigerian society so it is no surprise Nigerian celebrities are no longer willing to put up with the nonsense.
Expect to see a rise in the following types of lawsuits in 2015: defamation and breach of contracts.
Now on to our legal drama for the day. The key question here is whether you believe Funke Akindele has any grounds to sue Linda Ikeji.
1. Was Linda Ikeji’s post below modified?
2. If not, looking at what has been reproduced below, what are the grounds, you believe, in simple English, for a lawsuit against Linda? You don’t have to be a lawyer to answer this. Just tell me what parts of Linda’s post reproduced below you believe is sufficient grounds for lawsuit.
Linda Ikeji’s Post of 1/25/2015:
Something happened last night but I was too tired to write it …and then I woke up this morning and almost forgot about it. *sigh*. I may be reaching and Funke may not have been referring to Toyin but let me tell you what happened and you decide for yourself.
It’s not news that Toyin Aimakhu and Funke Akindele don’t see eye to eye. If you Google, you will find a few posts of reports of the two actresses beefing each other. In fact, sometime in 2013, Toyin tweeted at an ‘aunty Agbaya’ who was going around tarnishing her image. Toyin made reference to herself being married while the ‘Agbaya’ was single and jumping around. This was a few months after Funke Akindele’s marriage ended. (Read here). A lot of people felt Toyin was referring to Funke.
Well, yesterday after news hit social media that Toyin Aimakhu’s marriage to Adeniyi Johnson had crashed, Funke went on instagram and posted what you see above and under it she wrote “Yes, You!” with two tongue out smiley.
Many of her followers immediately picked up on it and accused her of shading Toyin because her marriage had also failed. When fans criticized her for the post, Funke Akindele removed it but not before I screen-grabbed it. So that’s happened. You think it had to do with Toyin?
The Demand Letter by Funke Akindele’s Lawyers
Your view. Does Funke Akindele have any grounds to sue on? Your thoughts in general?
My thoughts? Linda Ikeji made reference to Funke Akindele's fans 'shading' Funke so the blogger made the inference that it is what made the actress pull down the post; in light of that and though speculative, she is just reporting what seems to be obvious (if the law recognizes that).
2. On the two handles Funke's lawyers claim their principal was referring to with the post, they seem to have a 'case' in their favour there but then again, Linda's post was based on the 'feelings' she sensed Funke's fans showed as regarding the post.
3. Linda also did due diligence to direct readers 'Google' the purported 'beef' between Toyin Aimaku and Funke so you can't really say she is insinuating that as that information, true or false, is freely available in public domain, abi?
I don't know o but this is my 2kobo.