FG mulls banning Nollywood movies that promote money rituals

The Federal Government is set to launch a national sensitization campaign against money rituals.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, announced FG’s plan on Monday when he paid a working visit to Daily Trust headquarters.

He expressed the government’s concern over the menace that has claimed the lives of many, women and girls especially, and said there is an urgent need to censor movies promoting such acts.

He lamented the ritual murders “by unscrupulous people, most of them young, who are seeking to get rich at all cost”.

He added; For those who may still be in doubt, ritual killings have assumed a worrisome dimension in recent years.”

The minister cited the Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) report which found that 150 women and girls were killed across Nigeria between January 2018 and December 2021.

Mohammed disclosed that the National Orientation Agency (NOA) is partnering with religious, traditional organizations and NGOs to forge behavioural change.

He, therefore directed the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to take the issue of ritual killings into consideration while censoring and classifying films and videos.

The agency was further asked to meet Nollywood and stakeholders on the need for Nollywood producers to eschew money-ritual stories.

“The fact that some ritual killers said they learned the money-making tricks from some social media platforms has further given a fillip to the Federal Government’s campaign to rid social media of unwholesome content”, the minister said.