FG bans smoking, money rituals, other vices in Nigerian movies

The Federal Government has approved the prohibition of money rituals and glamorising of vices in Nigerian films.

The Executive Director/CEO of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Shaibu Husseini, disclosed this while speaking at a National Stakeholders Engagement on Smoke-Free Nollywood held in Enugu on Wednesday, May 22.

The NFVCB boss said, “Today, we are facing an industry emergency requiring bold and ambitious actions from all parents, guardians and stakeholders. 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 glamorising other crimes in order 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, pursuant to 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. We have also forwarded the approved copy to the Federal Ministry of Justice for Gazette,’’ he said

According to Husseini, besides the health implications, glamorising smoking in films poses a negative influence on teens and young adults who constitute the largest segment of Nigerian movie viewers. He said that the board was set to undertake detailed enlightenment programmes in secondary schools, tertiary institutions, local communities, faith groups and other institutions.