Unarguably, Ini Edo ranks high among artistes with breath taking scandals.

She came into the industry only a few years ago, yet she has garnered enough scandals to rock a lifetime.

The latest rumour about her is that she goes around defrauding men of pounds and dollars. The rumour so rattled her that she quickly called a press conference to address the matter recently.

She said, “I'm really very sad. Recently, I have been embarrassed on several occasions. I have come to realise that a certain group of people just sit down, buy SIM cards and impersonate me for whatever reasons. They call people up and claim to be me. In the process, they have taken money from people and gift items and have even insulted people. A lot of people now have terrible impressions about me because they believe they have been talking to me. They are trying to tarnish my image.”

Ini claimed she did not ask anyone for anything since she could afford whatever she wants. “Without sounding immodest, I have a very comfortable job. I have worked hard in this industry, enough to be able to put food on my table and do anything I would love to do.

“It is totally unimaginable and preposterous for anyone to say that I am going about getting money from men, I would probably leave my job and make that one a full-time job. I don't beg. I don't beg people for any favour, whatsoever.”

So bitter was she over this recent development that she went out of her way to set a trap for her impersonators. She told Spectacles that two of them had been arrested by the police.

“We were lucky to get one or two of them recently. I believe there are other people out there that we don't know. But I just want to tell everybody that I am not a beggar.”

However, Ini refused to disclose the names of the alleged impersonators.

“I don't think it is proper to give out the names. The police have come into the matter. We don't want to sound prejudiced. Investigations are still on,” she said.

She also shed light on her status as a scandal scarred artiste.

“I tell you, more than 95 per cent of them are lies. I keep wondering where these rumours come from. I know nothing of those scandals. In fact, like somebody said, the genesis and revelation of this is just because I haven't stayed long in the industry and I have attained this height. But it is just God that has blessed me. I don't know why people want to crucify me because of that.”

“I don't know what I have done. I used to see a lot of actresses being talked about. But my own has got to another stage.”

Though Ini has been silent over a lot of issues she has had in the past, she decided to open up to Spectacles on some of the controversies.

It was rumoured sometimes ago that some girls beat her up for snatching one of their friends' boyfriend. It was alleged that Ini was striped naked and she sustained a lot of bruises from the fracas.

“The story was so crazy. People know my house, you should have found out what happened. I think some people just don't like me. I might have made enemies without knowing. Whenever there is something positive coming to my life, they try something negative to overshadow that success. I trace all those things to some friends that wanted to tarnish me. You know how this life is. At times, you make friends with people who do not want anything good for you.”

Ini said the story was very absurd, insisting that it emanated from a group of girls who used to be her friends.

“At some point, they realised I was soaring higher than them, so they tried every means to bring me down. It was just that I had some misunderstanding with some friends; they said they were going to deal with me and I asked how they would do that. I didn't know they would go to that extent of cooking up that story. These are people that tried to act at some point in their lives and it didn't work for them, so they thought they could pull me down by their wicked rumours.”

Apart from that, it was also alleged Ini is a great lover of booze to the extent that she often gets drunk at events.

The actress almost could not hold back her emotions as she explained, “I don't even drink! I have not tried that all my life! Where could this rumour be coming from?”

She is also known as a very arrogant actress who has allowed her fame to get to her head.

“I don't think I am arrogant. I am not a snob at all. You are seeing me now, do I sound arrogant or have I done anything that could make me look like a snob?”

Concerning her love for skimpy dresses, which leave almost nothing to the imagination, Ini said, “I dress according to my mood. Occasions determine how I dress.”

It was also rumoured that the actress is set to walk down the aisle with her US-based beau, Phillip Ehiagwina.

The actress chose to keep mum about the alleged affair.

“When I am getting married, I will tell you so that you will come and eat rice. Let us leave it at that.”

But is Phillip her boyfriend, Spectacles insisted on knowing.

“I am in a relationship, which I am not ashamed of. I am not a kid. Please I don't want to talk about it any longer.”