No, the Nigerian government has not banned Nollywood films from showing smoking and ritual scenes
IN SHORT: Several Facebook posts claim that the Nigerian government has banned smoking and ritual scenes in Nollywood films. But these claims are misleading. The national films board told Africa Check that it has only issued regulations, not a ban.
"The federal government of Nigeria bans money ritual, smoking, crime scenes in Nollywood movies," reads a post on Facebook.
The Nigerian film industry is popularly known as Nollywood. It is said to produce over 2,500 films a year, making it the second largest film industry in the world.
The topic of money rituals and the glamourisation of other vices in Nollywood films has been the subject of research and controversy in recent years. In February 2022, the issue made headlines when the former minister of information and culture Lai Mohammed linked it to criminal cases in the country.
Similar posts can be found here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of the report.)
But did the federal government ban smoking and ritual scenes - among the most recognisable scenes in Nollywood films? We checked.
NFVCB regulations
A Google search of keywords from the claim brought up several news articles from May 2024. They reported that the Nigerian government had approved the prohibition of ritual killings, money rituals and smoking scenes.
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Africa Check contacted the National Films and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) for clarification.
The board's executive director, Shaibu Husseini, denied that smoking and ritual scenes were banned in Nollywood movies. He told Africa Check that the NFVCB had issued new guidelines to curb the glorification of these vices.
Speaking at a conference held in Lagos in June, Husseini said: "I did not ban smoking scenes. I did not ban ritual scenes. There are aspects of our culture that you need to display.
"But what we are saying is that if you have to display these necessary scenes, for historical accuracy, for educational purposes and, of course, to correct a negative lifestyle, you must warn people that these things are not real, that it is not a lifestyle to emulate ... There is nothing anti-creativity about that regulation; there is nothing about suppression of creativity in that regulation."
The new regulations allow producers and directors to depict these vices, where necessary, for historical and corrective purposes.
