By Zika Bobby
Stakeholders in Nollywood have raised the alarm over the arrest of an actress, Chioma Toplis, allegedly on the orders of an Umuahia-based socialite and businessman.
The actress was arrested on June 18, 2021, in a manner described by Nollywood stakeholders as ‘abduction’, which has led to a series of consultations, with the aim of raising a team of industry professionals towards lodging official complaints with the Presidency and other relevant security agencies.
“We are meeting over that and hope to use this incident to stop all forms of molestation of our members by whosoever. We are officially taking the matter to the highest authority in the land, and hope this will send the signal that actors are responsible professionals who cannot be cajoled,” a Nollywood source said.
Toplis, in an interview, said she has been living in apprehension, following the incident and appealed to the authorities to prevail on the Umuahia Chief to sign an undertaking not to harm her or any of her siblings.
The actress said she got reports of plans to raid her home in Lagos and responded with a petition to the Inspector General of Police before the incidents of June 18, where some men stormed her fashion outfit to whisk her away without a warrant.
“They asked for my ID card and phones which they seized. I begged to call my lawyer or my family, but they refused.
“When I asked where they were taking me to, they said Ikeja. At the IRT premises, they took me to one confined office outside their main office.
“They told me that their boss was coming to tell me what I did.
“People did not know where I was.
“My colleagues contacted the Commissioner of Police (CP) of Lagos, who confirmed there was no record of me, and this caused so much panic, because everyone concluded I had been kidnapped.
“When I spoke to their boss on the phone, he was harsh to me and instructed that I must cooperate or risk being handcuffed and humiliated as they prepared to take me to the airport.
“Before then, my legs were swollen because I had been sitting for over 11 hours.
“I told them that I needed my medication, but they ignored me. I was flown to Owerri, before being driven to Umuahia. By this time, my health was deteriorating.
“At the Umuahia Police headquarters, Zone 9, I was interviewed and luckily, there was no evidence against me, leading to the matter being transferred to the IRT Office of the IGP in Abuja,” she narrated.