Entertainment
Onyeka Onwenu To Appeal N5m Judgment
News making the
rounds in Nigeria Entertainment Industry via Premium Times net has it that last week, a Lagos High Court ruled that veteran Singer Onyeka Onwenu should pay the chairman Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji a fine of N5million in a defamation lawsuit. In objection to Hon Justice I. O. Akinkugbe’s orders, Onyeka says the judgment came after an unfair hearing and is ready to file an appeal.
“The Judgment given by Justice Akinkugbe is most unfair and cannot stand. Throughout the trial, the plaintiff’s lawyer kept referring to the fact that I was a member of the People’s Democratic Party and my appointment to office as Director General of the PDP, but that I was serving under an APC Government, she said.
Saying she was sure the judgment wouldn’t hold because” we were able to dismiss the allegations convincingly and unequivocally”. The former Director General of the National Center for Women Development maintains she is willing to go any length in getting a fair ruling.
“I will not apologise and I will not pay any fine. I am guilty of nothing. We have a country where one is allowed to pursue justice and by, God’s grace, justice will be served. If not by Justice Akinkugbe, then certainly by an Appeal Court or even the Supreme Court of Nigeria, she further said. Onyeka however, said she held no personal grudge against Tony Okoroji as her issues against him have always been on issues of probity and fairplay.
“I have been very much there for Okoroji for so long and in many more ways than I care to remember. I respect his intellect and I’ve said so on many fora,but I will not stand by and watch him attempt to destroy the very reputation that he has found and made use of personally and officially in the past, Some of us left the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria for him to run aground, in order to avoid his trouble. He is hoping we will do the same with regard to the Copyright Society of Nigeria. That wish will not be granted,” she said.
R&B star, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has recounted the early-career challenges she faced, revealing that she was once booed out of the stage while performing at a school event.
Speaking in an interview with Newsmen, the Crazy Tings crooner shared that she wasn’t only booed but was also harassed with plastic bottles.
“I remember one time I was going to perform at my school as an up-and-coming singer and I thought I was going to receiving a standing ovation.
“But I got booed. They even threw plastic bottles at me,” she recalled.
Tems explained that despite the embarrassing incident and other such rejections, she remained determined to pursue a career in music.
The Tide Entertainment reports that Tems admitted that some of the initial rejections she faced could be due to her conviction to stick to her originality instead of doing covers or familiar sounds like most of her peers.
The Grammy-winning singer said looking back now, she is glad that she didn’t compromise her style despite the initial pressures.
A close associate of late singer Mohbad, Primeboy, has appealed for the artiste’s burial nearly three years after his death.
According to him, Mohbad’s body remains in the mortuary since September 12, 2023, pending burial arrangements.
The Tide Entertainment reports that in a statement Primeboy urged the family, public, and government to permit the burial, stating, “It’s been almost three years since Mohbad left us. His body is still in the mortuary. I’m begging the family, I’m begging the public, I’m begging the government, please let’s bury our brother. He deserves a befitting burial.”
It would be recalled that Mohbad’s death sparked public outrage, protests, and investigations. Ongoing autopsy examinations, police inquiries, and legal proceedings have delayed burial arrangements amid family disagreements and public scrutiny.