Nollywood actress and filmmaker Bimbo Ademoye has raised alarm over a copyright infringement that temporarily affected the monetisation of her YouTube film, Where Love Lies, which has gained over 18 million views.
Ms Ademoye took to Instagram on Saturday to accuse an individual identified as Emmanuel Davies of falsely claiming ownership of a song used in the movie and placing a copyright claim that blocked her from earning revenue from the project.
In a video shared on her page, looking distressed, the actress said she woke up to discover that monetisation on the film had been taken down, despite having full ownership of the soundtrack.
“I’ve had a long week, I’ve been tested, I’ve been tried, mentally, physically, Emmanuel Davis, Lagos sound, you don’t want to play with me. Take down that thing and put the monetization of my movie,” she said.
Ms Ademoye also said that the song in question was originally created for her by singer Ugoccie, who, according to her, did not upload the track herself because of potential copyright complications.
“Ugoccie made a song for me, she didn’t upload it because of problems like this. You took it, uploaded it on Spotify and all platforms and claimed it to be yours, then you demoralized my hard work,” she said.
In a separate Instagram post, the actress warned the alleged offender to reverse the copyright claim within an hour, insisting that the song belonged to her.
“Woke up to my hard work wanting to be stolen from me. Please, if anyone knows who Lagos Sound/Emmanuel Davies is, tell him to lift the copyright from my movie in the next 1 hour,” she wrote.
“A song I completely own the rights to, you took it, uploaded it, named yourself the composer and blocked me from making money from my own swear.”
Following advice from her management, Ms Ademoye later took down the earlier posts and issued a clarification, stating that the matter would be handled through the authorities.
“Not only did he steal my song, he claimed copyrights and took monetization which means he’s claiming the money from the movie belongs to him,” she wrote.
She also shared a screenshot of a YouTube account named joanmartga7022 for using her movie poster and title without permission, and urged anyone with information about the account to reach out, adding, “I’m not playing with you guys anymore.”
The actress maintained that she pays for all soundtracks used in her films and carries out due diligence before releasing any project.
“I’m not an irresponsible person, I do not take what doesn’t belong to me, I do all my findings before uploading a movie. I pay for all the soundtracks I use in my movie,” she added.
Referencing a previous copyright dispute involving Anwuli, Ms Ademoye said, “Information reaching me has it that you want to settle out of court. This is me declining that offer. You started it by making me lose a movie at 6 million views. Now I want to finish it with final words from a judge.”
The case dates back to August 2025, when her film To Be a Friend was taken down from YouTube after reaching nearly 6 million views amid reported soundtrack copyright issues.
At the time, she asked supporters to be patient until she resolved the matter.
The actress has previously spoken about various copyright and piracy issues involving her films.
In April 2025, she publicly accused several Ghanaian television stations of airing her movies without permission.
She warned the stations to stop broadcasting her films, saying she had previously attempted to engage them in a collaboration but withdrew the offer due to repeated violations.
The actress has also dealt with piracy on YouTube, where multiple channels have been accused of using her movie titles, posters, and promotional images as clickbait to profit from her work.
She threatened to report the offending accounts and urged fans to help identify those involved.
