The national president of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) Emeka Rollas has dismissed reports claiming he was arrested and detained by the police in Umuahia, Abia State.
Rollas described the rumours as malicious and unfounded. He clarified that he was the one who contacted the police during a guild meeting in Umuahia, not the other way around.
He explained that he was in Umuahia to mourn the death of his mother-in-law and decided to attend the inaugural meeting of the Abia State chapter under its interim chairman, Emmanuel Ehumadu (Labista), to encourage members.
During the meeting, an attendee disrupted proceedings by hurling abuses and issuing threats.
“I made a distress call to the AIG Zone 9, who promptly intervened. The individual and his associates were invited for questioning, and the meeting resumed,” Rollas said.
He added that he later filed an official report about the threats at the Zone 9 police station.
The AGN president stressed that he was neither arrested nor detained, describing the rumours as attempts to tarnish his image.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Cornel Udofia, the AGN president further dismissed the claims as baseless fabrications.
“For the records, the Abia AGN chapter has been under interim leadership since 2024 following an illegal election conducted without the National body’s consent,” the statement read.
Udofia reaffirmed the appointment of Emmanuel Ehumadu as the interim chairman and commended Rollas for his efforts in unifying the guild.
The incident occurred after a group of aggrieved AGN members disrupted the meeting in Abia, accusing Rollas of sidelining the chapter’s elected chairman, David Amalaha, who was voted into office on May 20, 2023.
The protesters, led by Chika Okezie, Egwuatu Daniel and Nathaniel Nwoko, alleged that Rollas had appointed five interim chairmen since 2023, creating division within the chapter.
They demanded recognition of Amalaha and labeled the meeting an “illegal gathering.”
Emeka Rollas has served as the AGN president since 2019.
His leadership tenure was reaffirmed when he was re-elected in 2022.