In this interview with TOFARATI IGE, Actress Iyabo Ojo expresses her support for Folashade citing her concern for the alleged injustice being imposed on her.
How did you meet Folasade?
I just met her last year (2023) when they arrested her in August. I actually stumbled on her Facebook page, where she was doing an advert for a stone bra. The way she advertised it was funny to me, and her name sounded familiar.
When I later travelled to Canada and saw that Lola Alao was selling that kind of bra, I told her that I had seen a lady doing a funny advert for that kind of bra. I then advised her to emulate her (Folasade)’s style. I started posting her adverts, and people were commenting that she is good at what she does. I later joined her live video, and that was how I got to know more about her.
Shortly after, people started telling me that Liz has come after me. She (Liz) started laying curses on me, that my children and I will die. She claimed that I am Gistlover (the blogger). I was surprised, and that prompted me to want to know what was happening. It was then I got to know that they (Liz and Folasade) had been dragging themselves online, with police and court cases involved. The fact that she could insult me that much and lay curses on my children just because I made a video and mentioned Folasade’s name was appalling. So, I continued talking to the lady. When I got to Nigeria, I hosted her in my lounge. Meanwhile, Liz kept calling me unprintable names every day. Fast forward to Mohbad’s case, and she started saying my man (Paul O) and I were the ones that killed him. She also said I was dating Naira Marley. However, she was not calling my name. At a point, I got angry, because she was taking it too far. Initially, I did not respond to her for about two months. But, when she started laying all those allegations, I decided to take it up with her. I filed a petition against her and posted it on my page. She was to pay a certain sum of money and apologise, but she did not pay. As a matter of fact, the next day, she said she won’t comply.
Did the police invite Liz based on the petition you wrote against her?
They went to her shop but did not meet her. They invited her to the station, but she did not go. I later found out that she lied to them that the case was in Abuja. Meanwhile, I had sent my lawyer to Abuja, and the Deputy Inspector General of Police in Abuja said the case should be transferred to Alagbon (in Lagos). She (Liz) then went to court and told a judge that zone two police officers had been calling and harassing her. Meanwhile, they had only invited her over, because of all the allegations that I was Gistlover, and that I was dating Naira Marley. Anyway, my lawyer countered that petition.
Many people would say that you are only supporting Folasade because you want to get back at Liz Anjorin.
What do you have to say about that?
I am not supporting her to get at Liz Anjorin. I am supporting her because I can see that there is an injustice going on.
What is the genesis of your problem with Liz?
Liz Anjorin and I did not really have an issue any more. The first issue we had was years ago. Some years ago, Sikirat Sindodo (an actress) was having an event that year and I walked into the venue distracted. I was waiting for someone to bring something for me at home, so I got to the event late. I was already upset. All of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain at my back. Liz was the one that hit me, and I turned and asked her what happened. I did not even know she was the one. She said she had been greeting me, but I did not hear her. I then told her not to greet me again. My response was triggered by the way she hit me. I felt she could have tapped me to get my attention and not hit me. The next thing I knew was that she came out and said that the battle line had been drawn. Meanwhile, she was telling people that I told her to call me ‘aunty’.
We had that ‘beef’ for a while, and there was a time she went on a TV show, and was insulting my family and I. But, I still did not say anything. One of the elders in the industry then called me and her, and said we should both settle. I then told her that I never asked her to call me aunty. She apologised and said if I was truly sorry, I should feature in her movie. I initially refused, but later accepted. Meanwhile, she never paid me for that job.
At another time, Liz blocked me on Instagram. She claimed that she was having issues with a United Kingdom-based blogger, Esabod, yet I still commented on Esabod’s page. I told her that I only commented on Esabod’s post when she was cracking jokes, and not when she was insulting her (Liz). I told her she could not stop me from commenting on people’s post, because she had issues with them. Similarly, I cannot stop her from commenting on another’s person’s page, because I was having issues with the person.
Fast-forward to the current issue, when I realised that she was insulting me because of that lady, I decided to take it up. That was why I hosted her (Folasade) at my lounge, and even posted her account number, so that people could support her business. I also gave her a shop, where she could be selling her goods. When she told me that she was a single mother, who was struggling to survive, I told her that she would be my goddaughter.
Folasade claims that Liz Anjorin and her husband, Lateef, have been harassing her. What do you know about that?
This lady is in distress. How can the police collect a phone of a woman that has four children? Meanwhile, the court had already granted her bail. That is injustice!
Meanwhile, she was even arrested using Liz’s car. How can the police be transporting someone to court with her accuser’s car. That is actually a threat to her life. Even while in the car, they were threatening to kill her. Now, Folashade is even afraid to go home, because they threatened to kill her.
