Nollywood actor Taye Arimoro, has dragged colleague Peggy Ovire to court and demands a sum of 100 million Naira for damages over an alleged assault on a movie set.
The incident was said to have occured when Taye tried to leave the set after his working hours expired, but Peggy’s team allegedly blocked his car and deflated the tires.
In a letter issued by his lawyer at Inibehe Effiong Chambers, dated November 18, Arimoro claimed that on November 11, he attempted to leave a film location after completing his scheduled scenes and reaching the contractual end time of 11:59pm, but was prevented from doing so by Ovire and members of her production team.
According to the petition, Arimoro alleged that the actress ordered her driver to block the street exit, while her production manager physically obstructed his vehicle, resulting in his freedom of movement being restricted.
The letter further stated that the confrontation escalated at the estate gate, where Ovire allegedly mobilised security personnel and several individuals to forcibly stop him, deflate his tyres, and subject him to threats and violence.
Arimoro claimed he was physically assaulted, sustaining injuries including a fractured jaw, bites on multiple parts of his body, and damage to personal belongings. He also accused Ovire of attempting to delete evidence from his phone, which he said he was able to retrieve.
His legal team described the actions as “unlawful, inhuman, degrading and unconstitutional,” arguing that Ovire violated his fundamental rights to dignity, personal liberty, and freedom of movement as guaranteed under the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.
The lawyer demanded a public video apology to be posted across all her social media platforms, especially a permanent post on her verified Instagram page, and the payment of N100m in damages within seven days.
The letter concluded that failure to comply would result in legal action to enforce his rights.
Meanwhile, in a response posted online, Ovire rejected the claims, insisting that Arimoro was the aggressor.
She alleged that he violently attacked her production manager and driver after they appealed for him to stay briefly to complete two final scenes needed to wrap the shoot.
Ovire claimed Arimoro punched the production manager repeatedly and hit her driver, who she said was later seen bleeding. She argued that Arimoro went live on Instagram only after assaulting crew members, presenting a narrative that excluded his initial aggression.
“You beat up two crew members simply because you felt they had no voice or platform,” Ovire said, maintaining that she only intervened after the situation had escalated.
