Recall that four students, Lloyd Toku-Mike, 19; Tekena Friday Elkanah, 20; Ugonna Kelechi Obuzor, 18; and Chidiala Loroson Biringa, 20, were said to have visited Aluu community in Ikwerre Council Area of the state in October 2012, when the incident happened.
It was said that they were in search of a debtor who owed one of them. The debtor was alleged to have raised the alarm that these students were robbers who came to steal his valuables; thereby, they were pounced on by mobs and eventually lynched.
Reacting to the adaptation of the movie by Ikeji, which she titled, Dark October, billed for premiere on February 3, the representative of the families, Livingstone Wechie, asked the executive producer of the movie to immediately suspend any further action.
Wechie, who is also the Executive Director of The Integrity Friends for Truth and Peace Initiative (TIFPI), in a statement he personally signed, alleged that Ikeji did not seek consent nor consult any of the families of the slain boys.
He claimed that the advertised film has opened up old memories of the parents of the victims, and wondered why the blogger would produce such a film without seeking consent.
The statement reads: “The attention of the four bereaved families of the ill-fated Aluu 4 incident has been drawn to a widely advertised movie, titled, Dark October, which was produced by a known blogger by the name Linda Ikeji as stated therein.
“For the records and sadly so, Linda Ikeji produced the movie without seeking the consent of the affected families and parents of the unforgettable Aluu 4 victims.
“For the umpteenth time, I have been instructed in writing through my organisation, TIFPI, by the four affected families, that is the parents of late Lloyd Toku-Mike, Chiadika Biringa, Ugonna Obuzor, and Tekena Elkanah to represent them and ensure that justice is done in this matter.
“The production of the advertised movie has deeply reactivated the trauma and psychological pain that these families have been irrecoverably battling with for the past ten years plus and this is unfair. It is on record that Linda Ikeji has never reached out to the affected families since 2012 and this raises questions on her motivation.”
However, FilmOne Entertainment Company distributes the movie, which is a true-life story, and is directed by a Toka MacBaror, according to Ikeji, while announcing that the movie will be premiered on February 3, 2023, on Netflix in about 190 countries to a global audience.
To this end, the families demanded Ikeji and her business partners including Netflix, and FilmOne Entertainment Company, immediately suspend any further actions, including the premiering slated for February 3, 2023, and any other date pending and subject to consultations and express consent of the affected families who are at the receiving end of the entire assault.
“In furtherance to this notice for retraction, at this instant time, we have instructed our lawyers to immediately serve Linda Ikeji and her partners a Letter of Caution/Pre-Action Notice with an ultimatum or risk the burden of litigations,” he warned.
