By David Ajiboye

A grave silence descended on an Ikeja, Lagos State Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, as an 18-year-old man, Amusa (surname withheld) told the court how he was allegedly raped by a 39-year-old actor and producer in the Nigerian (Yoruba) Movie Industry, Alhaji Rasaki Olaniyi, alias Tunji Alaso.

An emotional Amusa told Magistrate T. A. Omoyele that the popular actor
drugged him with a fruit juice drink, held him captive, raped him and wiped the semen he released on him with a white handkerchief.

The victim said: My name is Amusa (surname withheld). I am 18 years old. I
work as a fuel attendant at a filling station in (area name withheld). Alhaji Oni film (as he referred to the alleged rapist) came to my filling station to buy fuel. He started chatting with me and asked me what time I would close from work. I told him that I close by 10:30 pm. He told me that the job I am doing was not good for me and that he would help me to get another job that will be better than being a fuel attendant.

“He gave me his phone number and address and promised to give me a job. I called him later in the week and he asked me to meet him in his house at AIT Road, Okofilling by 6:00p.m. I got there by 7:30p.m. and met some men in the sitting room. They told me to go and meet Alhaji Oni film in the bedroom but I began to feel that something was wrong. I told them to call him out but they insisted that I go inside his bedroom to meet him.”

Amusa continued: “When I entered the bedroom, I saw Alhaji Oni film in his underwear. He asked me to sit down and offered me a drink. I refused to drink and told him that I wanted to leave as it was getting too late in the night. He refused to let me go and ordered me to drink the fruit juice or they
would force me.

“When I refused, he called the two men I met earlier in the sitting room to hold me down and they forcefully poured the drink in my mouth. “In the next five minutes, I discovered that my body was weak I did not have power to move and I immediately felt like sleeping. I saw Alhaji removing his underwear and started raping me by putting his penis into my anus. He released his semen on my body and wiped it with a white handkerchief.

“He later asked the two men to open the door for me to go. When I got home, I was supposed to go to work but I could not go because I was feeling the
pain. I later noticed that I could not excrete through my anus or urinate. I called my father and told him what happened between me and Alhaji and he took me to the police station to report the case. That was how they arrested them and brought them to court.”

Amusa’s narrative did not go smoothly as counsel to the defendant interrupted him several times, which elicited objections from the prosecuting lawyer and generated heated confrontation between them. The magistrate, however, calmed both parties down for the session to continue and adjourned the matter to October 13 and 15, this year

By David Ajiboye

She’s known as an actress but Uche Jombo has many titles to her name – she is a mathematician/statistician, actress, screenwriter and now you can add producer to that list! Uche is making her production debut with the movie – Nollywood Hustler which she also stars in. The movie is co-produced by Games Men Play producer Emem Isong and directed by Moses Inwang.

Nollywood Hustler takes a comedic look at Nollywood; the real stars and the wannabes. This star-studded movie stars Ramsey Nouah, Monalisa Chinda and Lancelot Imasuen acting as fictionalized versions of themselves. Charles Inojie stars as the wannabe producer and Uche Jombo as the wannabe actress. With the supporting cast including talented actors Ejike Asiegbu, Susan Peters and Bishop Ime. Below are photos from the set of the movie which recreates a red carpet event tagged ‘Celebrities Give Back’ with real celebrities walking down the carpet as themselves and talking about their projects and the act of giving back. These celebs included Genevieve Nnaji, Ini Edo-Ehiagwina, Ngozi Ezeonu, Kalu Ikeagwu, Muma Gee, Zik Zulu Okafor, Vivian Ejike, musical duo Bracket, Kevin Luciano of Questionmark Entertainment, rapper Sasha and Julie of WOW magazine.

By David Ajiboye

One of Ghana’s enterprising actresses, Jackie Appiah, who has featured in a number of award-winning movies both in Ghana and Nigeria, says she is enjoying her work and does not intend to stop acting.

 
The movie star, who was discovered by the writer of Things we do for Love, a popular television series, hinted that she is into acting full-time.

Jackie Appiah is the essence of true African beauty, with a pretty face and dazzling smile. She is among 17 entertainment icons that have been signed by Glo, a telecommunication company to market their brand.

Speaking  in an interview with Africanmoviestar.com Africa Bureau Chief recently, Jackie Appiah admitted that her dream profession was to be a lawyer, not an actress.

Jackie, who is married, explained that acting out a love scene which involves kissing; “Is as complicated as doing a normal scene where you are just talking to somebody”. She recounted a challenging moment in her career where she played two different characters (twins; Maa Afia and Ashley) in the movie, Princess Tyra. This earned her a nomination at the 2008 African Movie Academy Award (AMAA). She also won an award for her role in Beyonce.

Jackie Appiah’s face can be seen on many billboards and in TV commercials, including an advert on protection against HIV/AIDS in Ghana. Jackie revealed that there are always crews on location watching the actors
and actresses so they do not get emotional during extreme scenes. She
added that her husband has no problem with those scenes since she is
just acting.

Jackie Appiah Agyemang was born on December 5, 1983 in Canada, but moved to Ghana with her parents in 1993. Jackie, who was a runner up in the Talent Teens Competition, started acting at the age of 12 in her local church group. Their performances mostly demonstrated the Christian way of addressing and approaching the public.

However, her professional acting career began when she was cast as Enyonam Blagogee in the TV series Things We Do for Love. Following her on-screen debut, Jackie went on to create a successful acting career, including starring in the smash hit movie Beyoncé, alongside prominent Ghanaian actors Van Vicker and Nadia Buari. Her role quickly established her as an A-lister in the industry.

Jackie has cashed in on her A-list status as she has endorsed many products and was the spokesperson for an AIDS/HIV awareness campaign in Ghana. She has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Africa Movie Academy Award (AMAA) for Best Supporting Actress in 2007.