The Federal Government on Monday warned filmmakers to avoid money ritual contents.
The directive was given to the National Film and Video Censors Board, the body set up to regulate the film and video industry in Nigeria.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, declared this during a media visit to Daily Trust office in Abuja.
Mohammed stated that such contents had negatively influenced the vulnerable youth, hence the need to mitigate it.
Recently, some of these money ritual suspects have revealed how they learnt the dreadful act on social media.
However, the Federal Government is ready to sanitise social media.
Speaking on the issue, Mohammed 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 consider this issue while performing its role of censoring and classifying films and videos.
“I have also directed NFVCB to engage with stakeholders in the film industry 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.
“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.”
He also noted that the government won’t allow the social media space to be suffused with dangerous content, adding that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, won’t relent in its efforts to ensure responsible use of social media.
He further urged religious, traditional, and political leaders to be part of the action to reorient youths to realise that success comes through hard work, not money rituals.