John Boyega: I don’t know Toke Makinwa… I didn’t kick her out of a bar

John Boyega, British-Nigerian actor, has denied being involved in an alleged assault suffered by Toke Makinwa, a media personality, in December.

Makinwa had criticised a newly opened restaurant, Crossroads, for watching idly while she was bullied by the bodyguard of the actor.

The radio presenter said she was assaulted and intimidated by Boyega’s bodyguard while she visited the restaurant.

Reacting, Boyega said he does not know Makinwa and he does not “roll with bodyguards”.

“I did not kick anyone out of the bar. First of all, who is that?” he said in an interview on Cool FM.

“I’m from London. I don’t know. I’m sure if I know the person is, I’d have known who she is.

“I’ve never had a bodyguard in Nigeria. I don’t roll with bodyguards. When I came in December, I came on holiday.”

In a separate interview on CNBC Africa, the ‘Pacific Rim’ star said he is interested in producing original Nigerian stories.

He said: “I grew up in Nollywood. The first Nollywod movie I ever watched was ‘Blood Sisters’.

“For me, it is a chance to develop these stories, match Nollywood with Hollywood, connect to the artistes here, to bring the genuine and most important stories to life, but captured in a very important and professional way.

“Right now we are developing a few and choosing which one, budget-wise, makes sense.

“This is a great time for us to collaborate and make great stories. But of course, it starts with a phenomenal script which is hard to achieve. But we are doing well so far, we are moving steady on.”

Boyega also disclosed that it took him seven months to shoot ‘Pacific Rim’.