Nigeria’s Federal Government on Monday asked filmmakers to avoid money ritual contents in their movies.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who stated this during a media visit to Daily Trust office in Abuja, said the confession of some money ritual suspects that videos on social media inspired their heinous act boosted the resolve of the Federal Government to sanitise the social media.
“Many have also blamed Nollywood for featuring money rituals in some of its movies, saying this has negatively influenced the vulnerable youth. To mitigate this, I have directed the National Film and Video Censors Board, the body set up to regulate the film and video industry in Nigeria, to take this issue into consideration while performing its role of censoring and classifying films and videos.
“I have also directed NFVCB to engage with stakeholders in the film industry in order to express the concerns of the government and Nigerians on the need to eschew money ritual content in their movies,” he said.
Mohammed continued: “For those who may still be in doubt, ritual killings have assumed a worrisome dimension in recent years…Recently, in Ogun State, four young men, one of whom is 18 years old, murdered their 20-year-old female friend for money rituals.
“One of them said they learnt about using human parts for mone rituals from social media. Of course, you are also aware of a case involving a female student of the University of Jos who was allegedly killed by her boyfriend for ritual purposes. These killings have been widely reported by the media.
“The fact that some of these ritualists said they learnt the money-making tricks from some social media platforms has given a further fillip to our campaign to rid social media of unwholesome content.”
According to him, the government won’t allow the social media space to be suffused with dangerous content, adding that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration won’t relent in its efforts to ensure responsible use of social media.
The minister appealed to religious, traditional and political leaders to be part of efforts to reorientate youths to realise that success comes through hard work, not money rituals.
The Minister’s call is coming days after industry heads in Nollywood have rejected the accusation that Nollywood films goad misguided youths and others to embrace so-called money-making rituals.
Presidents of Association of Movie Producers, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe and President of Directors Guild of Nigeria, Victor Okhai, among others, have released strong statements seeking to defend creative licence and why art merely imitates life.
