Opeyemi, the estranged wife of Ifedayo Olarinde (popularly known as Freeze) reached out to BellaNaija to tell her own truth concerning the events that led to their separation.
She said she wouldn’t have a stranger speak up for her as two social media accounts with the same name – @andelasmith – have been making several allegations against Freeze in the past couple of days. Read about them here and here.
With the permission of her children, Opeyemi has shared her own side of the story.
See excerpts below:
On their marital status:
I am still in court with him. Our divorce is not final, we’ve not even had a trial. The issue now is the last time we went to court the judge wanted to speak to our children (as they) were also involved in the abuse. My son has a kneecap that was broken when he tried to cover me when his father was beating me. He is just learning how to walk properly again and started playing football in January.
A lot has happened and I’ve kept quiet because I don’t know how to handle this. I kind of saw all this coming tho because when I was leaving he threatened me that if I left he will destroy me on social media because he has the power to do so as I am nothing and he is everything and there was no way I was going to survive without him.
On how are kids are coping with this:
We went on holiday to an African country and when we got back the first thing my daughter to me “Mummy I’m so glad this is the house we came back to, and not VI.” This is a situation where there was abuse every day.
A year before I left I had to stay in my marriage and be called Benedicta. I have enough evidence with my lawyers that will show all the abuse I went through. He cursed my son for covering me up while he was hitting me. My kids are in a much better place now and are happy. We live in a better situation and a more positive environment.
My kids and I watched an interview he did and thankfully they didn’t cry. They just laughed. I thank God that they are healing.
On why she has decided to speak up now:
He is the only man I’ve ever known for that long, so I didn’t exactly know how to handle what happened to me. There was no go-to book or counsellor; my not responding then was me broken, confused and lost. He used to beat me and put her on speaker phone and say “look I’m beating her and she has refused to leave” then she would scream at me to get out of the house. But I didn’t have anywhere to go.
I had no exit strategy but at the end of the day, I had to leave because if I had died that is how the story would have ended.
Right now reading all that stuff I read yesterday (Wednesday), I have no idea who the person is behind the Twitter account, but I am not a coward and if someone has come out with 100% truth of what happened, then I will speak up.
A stranger can’t be fighting for me and I’m quiet, so I decided to come out and say yes it is true. He was given a court order to stop humiliating me on social media but he hasn’t stopped.
I asked them (my kids) for their permission before I did this interview and my daughter goes “mummy you’ve been quiet, and it’s almost like you are afraid of him” My son said “mummy you’re afraid of daddy even though we’ve left” I had to let them know I’m not afraid of him and that’s why I’ve decided to speak up.
On why he is doing what he’s doing:
He was born into an abusive family, so I sort of understood where he was coming from. That was one of the reasons why I stayed so long. Even when people asked why I stayed with him when I was admitted into the hospital in 2006, I told them this was someone I basically grew up with, there was so much we had ahead of us so I wasn’t going to walk out on him.
If not for my kids I can assure you I would have still stayed and he would have killed me, just because I didn’t have anywhere to go. He kept everybody away from me. I think he is disturbed, and this may be his own way of crying out for help.
OAP Freeze had previously shared his side of the story. We hope they find peace and compromise soon.
Listen to the exclusive interview with BellaNaija below:
Osunde did not take her comment lightly. She retorted, saying, “We’re tired of seeing your face too in your office. Damn! I hope they sack you.”
Enioluwa then took to X to address the notion of Nollywood using familiar faces in films. He stressed that it happens because of finances.
He wrote,
“People often say they’re tired of seeing the same faces in Nigerian films. However, unlike in Hollywood, actors in Nigeria can’t afford to do just one film a year—how much are they paying? The industry currently can’t support as many newcomers as people might expect because, realistically, many of them wouldn’t be able to meet even their basic needs. No one wants to be famous and financially unstable.”
In response, another X user asked him for practical solutions, urging him to suggest actionable steps rather than just highlighting the problems. “You made a crucial point there but you didn’t suggest any solution,” he commented.
Enioluwa then explained,
We don’t have the buying power yet; it’s growing because streaming platforms have come in and people have made more records in the box office. Nevertheless, you can’t equate it to Hollywood, an Avengers that made over $2 billion that can pay its actors millions of dollars and still have enough profit.
People often say they’re tired of seeing the same faces in Nigerian films.
However, unlike in Hollywood, actors in Nigeria can’t afford to do just one film a year— how much are they paying.
The industry currently can’t support as many newcomers as people might expect because,…
Nollywood filmmaker John Njamah recently voiced his concern about the prevailing casting practices in the industry. He argued that casting decisions should prioritize an actor’s talent over their physical appearance or social media popularity.
In an exclusive interview, Njamah, a Nollywood veteran, gave insightful commentary on the current state and future trajectory of Nigerian cinema.
Known for his role as Rabiu in the popular TV soap opera “Fuji House of Commotion,” Njamah has also graced the screens of numerous television shows.
Interestingly, the shows he has featured in include “Tinsel,” “Living In Lagos,” “Solitaire,” “Casino,” “Emerald,” “Tide,” and “My Flatmates.”
During the interview, Njamah talked about his filmmaking journey. He emphasized his unwavering passion for the industry and his aspirations for its continued development.
“What is fuelling me is beyond passion. There’s that knack and need to grow with every month, whatever year. There’s that need to.do something different. This industry of ours is for you to do whatever you want to do and not join the bandwagon. So for me, it’s the originality in me and the need to do something right that is fuelling me Basically, it’s the ever-creative venture in me,” he said.
Njamah discussed how African stories are evolving. Furthermore, he emphasized that positive and negative changes have happened over the years.
“There’s a positive aspect and there’s a negative aspect. There’s a technical input. We’re telling our stories better technically. We’re telling better and bigger stories. The negative is that we are beginning to lose our originality. We are beginning to join the bandwagon to tell what is peculiar to other people and not to us. We are beginning to lose a bit of our identity cos there’s no longer us,” he said.
What’s more, Njamah spoke about casting in the industry. He pointed out differences between the industry during his time and the current climate, especially with casting.
“Fuji House was a one-camera shoot with hungry and passionate people. Now we have people who cast people who are beautiful and with Barbie bodies and followership and not necessarily for your talents. Some of us try to be that original because that’s where better stories are told. You want to tell stories with passionate people. Whether you like it or not, it’s a long shot but it’s possible. You want to give the actors that are worthy of the job and not the ones that are based on Instagram followers. We borrow from society and give back to society by way of entertainment and pedagogical values.”
Further, he criticized the lack of professional work ethic among filmmakers in Nollywood. He highlighted the absence of a robust system to evaluate the performance and accountability of producers within the industry.
“Professionalism is lacking. Respect for those in charge, humility and the like is lacking today. The industry lacks checks and balances. Every Tom, Dck and Harry can wake up and call themselves a producer and just get on board and be doing stuff without being checked and of course, the guild system is not working so they can’t check. There are no criteria for who should become a producer. The system is also not working. Let’s just be mindful as producers, directors and actors,” he added.
In conclusion, John Njamah acknowledged the unique character of Nollywood. Meanwhile, he proposed the creation of a domestic platform to market and distribute Nigerian films. Consequently, this would reduce reliance on foreign streaming services.
“That thing that they don’t like about us is what makes us, us. I am tired of people saying they don’t want to come into the country for coproduction cos we’re that and that and why are we relying on the likes of the streamers? Why can’t we do something that is for us by us so that they will come to us and ask for these things? We are solely depending on them to licence our movies, for survival. Speaking of coproduction, if you tell me you don’t want to come into the country for any reason, I’ll tell you you’re wrong, cos there are amazing producers here that you’ve seen their work. All you need to do is come to them and agree on modalities.”
Nollywood actress Mercy Aigbe-Adeoti revealed one of the reasons she chose to marry Kazim Adeoti as his second wife.
During her appearance on “Nollywood on Radio”, Mercy Aigbe explained that her husband’s deep experience and dedication to Nollywood significantly influenced her decision.
Emphasizing that their marriage goes beyond a personal connection, she mentioned it also aligns with their shared professional ambitions.
She said of their shared ambitions, “That’s one of the reasons why I married him.”
She added, “Together we’re building an empire; we’re building a production empire and I felt like I needed someone like that. It’s a good thing that he’s in the industry so with his strength and my strength combined, the future of the empire is looking good already.”
Social media users slammed the actress after her revelation. Many criticized her decision. They pointedly reminded her about Kazim Adeoti’s first wife, who, according to reports, did not give her consent to their marriage.
A comment read, “Elesin! Empire wey he don already build with his first wife.”
“Mercy, you know that you betrayed this woman. If you and the first wife didn’t know each other, it is a different thing since she is a Muslim, but you are someone who can not be trusted,” another person said.
Mercy’s marriage to Kazim Adeoti sparked controversy from the very beginning. Reports claimed that she allegedly came between the filmmaker and his first wife, Funso.
However, Kazim clarified that he and Mercy had been friends and business partners for over ten years. This was before they began dating.
On the other hand, Mercy’s ex-husband, Lanre Gentry, accused her of being friends with Funso throughout that period. Eventually, she married Adeoti in 2022.
In April 2023, the actress surprised her fans on social media. She announced her conversion to Islam just before the start of Ramadan, introducing herself as Hajia Meenah Mercy Adeoti.
