If most of what she does as a film-maker is so that her millions of followers will continue to engage her brand and the things she endorses in a positive light, this week’s cyber-bullying war between Toyin Abraham and several angry voices on social media deliberately wants to put that in jeopardy.

Nollywood actress Abraham in the early hours of Wednesday 10 July rather than winning hearts for her creative contribution in cinemas has sadly made enemies because she allegedly had the mother of a media professional arrested the previous day.

It had started with the Malaika co-director alleging cyberbullying and defamation of her personality. To sort it out the film-maker reported to a Lagos State Police Command office with the phone numbers of those she believed had bullied her online. The reaction from the police after the complaint then led to the arrest of the mother and sister of the suspect known on X as jefferybest11. However, these two aren’t directly connected with Toyin Abraham’s experience of defamation.

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Both mum and daughter were reportedly at their shop in the Egbeda area of Lagos before the police tracked them there while searching for the suspect.

A thread by jefferybest11 diving into the event reads that I got a message from my sister and mom on how police came to pick them up at the shop at Egbeda and are headed to Panti police station. Why? They couldn’t even specify!

Nigeria police said I bullied Toyin Abraham and her son, they were showing my pictures to my family which I never did! Toyin called the station while the situation was going on and specified I never bullied but @47kasz did allegedly

— El jefe (@jefferybest11) July 9, 2024

The arrival of jefferybest11’s colleague Ayo eventually led to the mum’s freedom in what has looked like a swap by the police. This was because Ayo was detained in exchange for the women’s getting out of jail.

Ayo who was already at the police station turned himself in and was detained immediately and my mom and sister were asked to leave [at] Toyin’s request but mom said she [wouldn’t] leave the police station without him.

Ayo who was already at the police station turned himself in and was detained immediately and my mom and sister were asked to leave on Toyin’s request but mom said she won’t leave the police station without him.

— El jefe (@jefferybest11) July 9, 2024

But this narration by the content creator is only one side of the story as Toyin Abraham has her side of things. Such as not asking the police to arrest a suspect’s mother as is being alleged. The actress revealed this on a live broadcast.

At the same time, while stating her innocence, Abraham was heard sharing through the broadcast that she was ready to die. I did not commit any crime; I only exercised my right. I did not arrest anybody’s mother. I wrote a petition and from there I was asked to go to [the cybercrime department]. I got there, wrote a petition, gave them the handle and the screenshot.

What the actress is going through is a rift with potential cinema audiences anytime she drops a release. This one seems to be very deep with the audience threatening to report her social media account so that she can be removed possibly.

Toyin Abraham’s critics condemn her association with the President of Nigeria Bola Tinubu before he was sworn in.

A tweet by the actress in late February 2023 shared that meeting the President-elect at the time and listening to his vision pre-inauguration renewed her hope and reaffirmed him as her choice. This in the eyes of those that denigrate her implies her partisanship.

For the first time, I met the incoming president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and he shared some of his Ideas, Visions and Strategy to solve the challenges before us, as a Nation.

Listening to him indeed renewed my hope and reaffirmed why he is my choice. pic.twitter.com/6NnTBW5VdI

— TOYIN ABRAHAM AJEYEMI (@toyin_abraham1) February 22, 2023

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The last time Toyin Abraham went against online elements was at the beginning of the year and she won. It was 30 weeks ago when she went toe-to-toe with pirates that were illegally profiting from the Steve Sodiya co-directed production Malaika, which was barely under a month after the Christmas holiday film was released in theatres.

At this time, the actress faces a different reality. There is a chance she might have exploited her post as a celebrity to oppress those without that kind of influence. In this cyberbullying matter, anyone who wins is the one who proves to be the victim.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.