Emmanuel Okhuelegbe, a Lagos-based filmmaker and owner of Signature Film Studio, has withheld payments from several actors who appeared on his movie set in February 2023 for over a year.

No fewer than 10 people whom Okhuelegbe hired to play the role of extras in his movie project contacted FIJ on Friday to say they were yet to receive their wages 14 months after working.

Some of them are owed N5,000, others N7,000 and the rest of them N10,000.

It was not the first time they would complain. FIJ earlier reported how the filmmaker said he could not pay them until the movie was marketed.

At the time, Okhuelegbe said he had paid some other actors and was cash-strapped.

READ MORE: Because Movie Isn’t Out Yet, Filmmaker Emmanuel Okhuelegbe Hasn’t Paid Actors Hired in February

During a WhatsApp interview with FIJ on October 29, the filmmaker said, “If the film is not in the market and they want their money, it might not sit well with me because I am not directly the producer. I only wanted to meet them halfway which we are sure to do when the film is released.”

He offered to put the actors on his other projects, but they insisted he pay them before proposing more work. FIJ relayed this message to him, and he repeated that he would do so after the movie hit the market. This interview was seven days after the proposed October 22 release date.

On Saturday, FIJ called Okhuelegbe again, and he said the movie was still not out and he still would not be able to pay the actors.

FIJ asked if the actors’ payments were contingent on profits the movie would make, but the filmmaker refused to comment, saying he would get back to them. He then cut the call.