Veteran Nigerian filmmaker Tunde Kelani has condemned the unauthorised extraction and circulation of short clips from his films on social media, describing the practice as piracy and intellectual property abuse.
Kelani, popularly known as TK, raised the concern in a Facebook post, criticising bloggers and content creators who cut scenes from his movies into reels without permission. He cited works including Saworoide, Agogo Eewo, Ti Oluwa Nile, and Thunderbolt: Magun as examples of films being fragmented for online engagement.
“This is wrong. Cutting our films into unauthorised reels and posting them online is not promotion. It is piracy and the destruction of our cultural work,” he wrote.
He stressed that films are complete creative works and should not be reduced to snippets for profit or social media traction. Kelani urged digital creators to respect copyright laws and promote films through legitimate distribution channels.
His comments come amid growing concerns within Nigeria’s creative industry over the widespread reposting of movie scenes across platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok without authorisation.
Kelani is widely regarded for culturally significant films and literary adaptations including Koseegbe, Oleku, The Narrow Path, White Handkerchief, Maami, and Dazzling Mirage.
