Actress Stephanie Okereke-Linus sued for N100milion for allegedly stealing “Dry” script

A writer and legal practitioner, Daniella Madudu, has dragged Nollywood actress, Stephanie Okereke-Linus, to court over alleged infringement on her intellectual property.

Madudu claimed that the actress’ popular movie titled, Dry, was an adaptation of her novel, Behind the veil, and has served her a N100million copyright infringement lawsuit.

Madudu alleged that Okereke-Linus adapted the novel, which focuses on child marriage and the attendant health complications, such as the Vesico-Vagina Fistula disease in northern Nigeria, into the movie without due authorisation.

The actress has denied the claims stating facts surrounding the conception and making of the movie.

She said: “I registered the script for my movie ‘DRY’ with The United States Copyright Office on November 28TH, 2011. I registered the script for my movie ‘DRY’ with The Nigerian Copyright Commission on July 27TH, 2012. That the so called “original literary work” of the Daniella Madudu, I was supposed to have appropriated in my movie has never been registered at The Nigerian Copyright Commission even as we speak“.

The award-winning filmmaker also described the claims as “baseless, spurious and glaringly untrue“.

The court has yet to fix a date to hear the case which was filed on Monday.