Nigerian government bans money rituals, vices in films to promote positive values

The Nigerian government has placed a ban on Nollywood movies depicting money rituals and glamorizing vices such as ritual killings, according to the Executive Director of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Dr Shaibu Husseini.

Speaking at a stakeholders' engagement event organized jointly by the NFVCB and Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) in Enugu on Wednesday, May 22, Husseini said the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has approved new regulations to prohibit such content.

"When my predecessor approached the former Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, on the need to make subsidiary legislation to curtail the display of smoking in Nigerian movies, he saw the need to include money rituals and other crimes to further sanitise the film industry," Husseini said as quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria.

"Today, I am delighted to announce to you that the Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, pursuant to Section 65 of the NFVCB Act 2004, has approved the regulation," he added.

The new regulations aim to discourage the normalization of vices and promote positive health messages through Nollywood content.

Husseini said, "We have also forwarded the approved copy to the Federal Ministry of Justice for Gazette.”

"The sensitization programme was to educate stakeholders on the danger inherent in consummation of smoking in Nigerian movies," Husseini noted, adding “As you all know, the film industry occupies a central position in the entertainment and creative sectors, and it is imperative that we continue to place the highest premium on the progress of the film industry," he added.

The ban on money rituals and glamorizing of vices is part of efforts by the Nigerian government and NFVCB to promote positive values through the influential Nollywood film industry.