Amazon Prime, the entertainment subscription-based streaming service, has sought the dismissal of a suit brought against its first Nigerian original production, ‘Gangs of Lagos’.
Released on April 7 via Amazon’s Prime Video Nigeria, the movie, which was directed by Jade Osiberu, tells the story of a group of friends who have to navigate their own destiny, growing up on the bustling streets and neighbourhood of Isale Eko, a community in Lagos State.
But ‘Gangs of Lagos’ received backlash for depicting the Isale Eko community as a haven for criminals and the Eyo Masquerade as a murdering weapon.
Despite the movie’s producers clarifying that the events are merely fictional, some Lagos indigenes under the auspices of the Isale Eko Descendants Union (IDU) instituted a suit seeking ₦10 billion in damages against Amazon and other ‘Gangs of Lagos’ producers for what they described as “wrongful and illegal depiction of Isale Eko as a den of criminals and the Eyo Masquerade as a gang of murderers”.
In its defence, the entertainment company filed a preliminary objection to the IDU lawsuit, where it argued that the Lagos State Government lacked the constitutional power to censor films produced within its territory.
Amazon argued that “the Cinematograph Law of Lagos State 2004 is not applicable to video and film censorship in the state”.
In the objection dated June 30, the entertainment firm asked the court to dismiss the suit on the ground that the Cinematograph Law of Lagos State 2004 was enacted outside the legislative competence of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Amazon sought an order “pursuant to section 25(1)(q) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999” striking out the suit as the court “does not have jurisdiction to entertain it”.
It therefore argued that the appropriate law is the National Film and Video Censor Board Act, 1993, an Act of the National Assembly, which has already covered the field.
Justice Idowu Alakija of the High Court of Lagos State in Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) is expected to deliver a ruling on whether to strike out the suit seeking to censor the film and sanction its producers on October 9, 2023.
