How Nollywood producer was nabbed for sexual harassment

The age-long buzz that sexual harassment thrives in Nollywood came alive again last week when a popular producer (names withheld) and prominent member of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) was arrested by the police in Lagos.

He was detained with some of his aides at the Soloki Police Station, Aguda, Surulere, for allegedly stripping some young actresses naked during the audition for his new movie.

The ugly incident allegedly took place, last Thursday, at a residence opposite the popular Nollywood rendezvous at Winnis Hotel, Surulere, Lagos.

Aspiring actresses at an audition venue

The young actresses were said to have gathered at the venue for the audition because the producer, popularly known as Locomotive Productions, had announced that only young and aspiring actresses needed apply for the movie roles.

Locomotive was said to have ordered the desperate actresses to strip at the audition ground, an order which some of them obeyed without hesitation and thereafter, he and his cohorts proceeded to demand for sex as a pre-condition for getting roles in the new movie.

Another version of the story said one of the actresses, (names withheld) who refused to comply with the order, escaped and alerted the male actors who rushed into the house and caught the popular producer and two other men pants down.

The actors’ screams however caught the attention of the landlady who raised an alarm. Thereafter, the matter was reported to the Chairman, Lagos State Chapter of Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rising, who invited the police.

Confirming the incident, the AGN, Lagos State boss described the incident as “dirty and shameful” warning that the guild would no longer tolerate such act from any producer and that it would go the extra mile to bring such culprits to book.

“This is not the kind of image we want to project in Nollywood. Some of the actresses are not registered members of AGN, and more so, many of them are old women desperately looking for movie roles,”he narrated.

AGN, he said, was forced to drop prosecuting the matter because the abused actresses were not willing to pursue the matter.

“They refused to show up or write a formal statement to the police,” Emeka told HVP.

Vanguard online