On Monday, the federal government issued a directive to filmmakers advising them to avoid using money rituals in their films.
Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, said this during a media tour to the Daily Trust headquarters in Abuja.
According to the minister, the confessions of certain money ritual suspects that they learned the horrible deed on social media have strengthened the Federal Government’s commitment to clean up social media.
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.”
Earlier, Mohammed said, “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.
“One of them said they learnt about using human parts for money rituals from social media. Of course, you are also aware of a case involving a female student of the University of Jos who was allegedly killed by her boyfriend for ritual purposes. These killings have been widely reported by the media.
“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.”
The Minister stated that the government will not allow dangerous content to infiltrate the social media space, and that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will not relent in its efforts to ensure responsible social media use.
The minister urged religious, traditional, and political leaders to join efforts to reorient youths so that they understand that success comes from hard work rather than money rituals.
