UPDATED: Ramsey Nouah has a serious matter to settle over ‘Living in Bondage’

Editor’s note: Please note that this piece has been updated with a footnote, following new developments on the allegations.


It’s 2020, and we are stuck with the same old story you know. The one where the big name brand rips the little guy off because there is no one to fight for them. Except that now, social media has increased the pressure on would-be defaulters.

But it’s disheartening for many that the issue is about one of Nollywood’s favorite heartthrobs, Ramsey Nouah and the Living in Bondage sequel, one of the biggest movies to grace the Nigerian movie industry last year. There is a reservation here however. He is yet to respond, so it is still an allegation.

What is the matter?

We all woke up to a thread by Twitter user, @louisajlo, describing her ordeal on alleged intellectual property theft. In the thread, she detailed how she had accepted a job to work as a graphics designer for the movie, Living in Bondage, but she was discarded off the project for lack of creativity, yet her designs were used without compsensation.

She described how she had been contacted and given a number of tasks to perform for the movie and while there was no official documentation or contract, she accepted the job, admitting that it was an exciting opportunity, owing to the scale and nature of the project. She explained how she had worked tirelessly, going back and forth with her employers over creative choices and differences.

Louis described how she would make a demand for her payment, but was told to be patient. And when it was all said and done, she was neither paid, credited on the project, or compensated in any way, despite her work being used in the film.

She also gave evidence of several occasions she tried reaching out to Ramsey Nouah, but he wouldn’t respond. According to some users, this story has rubbed Nigerians off the wrong way, as it is reminiscent of the type of fraud a lot of upcoming creatives have been subjected to.

Well-meaning voices on Twitter have given her ideas on how she could rectify the issue:

And of course, there are those who didn’t think it is wise to jump to conclusions just yet:

While we can’t say with certainty what the truth is, we can say for sure that this is a recurring problem, especially in the Nigerian entertainment industry, and there needs to be a transparency metric that ensures that all creatives tied to a project, get their due wage. We hope Ramsey Nouah and all involved would resolve this soonest.


Here are the latest updates to the story:

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