The Federal Government has approved the prohibition of money rituals, smoking and other vice scenes in Nollywood movies, News About Nigeria reports.
This was disclosed by the Executive Director/CEO of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Dr Shaibu Husseini, at a National Stakeholders Engagement on Smoke-Free Nollywood held in Enugu on Wednesday.
Speaking on the FG’s move to ban such scenes from Nollywood movies, Husseini explained that the decision was taken because displaying such is glorifying evil and also teaching younger generations to smoke and engage in a ritual or other vice.
He further noted that besides the fact that films with smoking scenes pose a negative influence on teens and young adults who constitute the largest segment of Nigerian movie viewers, there are many underlying health implications that even the actors can suffer from because of the intake of cigarettes.
Speaking on the ban, Husseini said, “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. Others included in the regulation are ritual killings and glamourising other crimes to further sanitise the film industry.
“Today, I am delighted to announce to you that the Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, under section 65 of the NFVCB Act 2004 has approved the regulation. The minister has approved the Prohibition of Money Ritual, Ritual Killing, Tobacco, Tobacco Products, Nicotine Product Promotion and Glamorisation display in Movies, Musical Videos and Skits” Regulations 2024.”
