The Minister of Information and Culture of Nigeria, Lai Mohammed, has said that most of the recent ritual killings for money were influenced by some Nollywood films.
He made this known on Monday during a media visit to the Daily Trust office in Abuja.
Making reference to some of the confessions of the ritual killers who attributed their actions to what they watched in Nollywood movies and social media, Mohammed stated that the Federal Government was on a mission to regulate social media platforms and Nollywood.
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He said, “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.
“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.
“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”
Also appealing to religious bodies, he said, “The religious bodies should stop preaching only prosperity; you should be preaching morality more than the way you preach prosperity.
“Nollywood actors and the movie censors board have a lot to do to regulate the type of films they produce because some of them (ritual suspects) learn it in movies”.
