The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has announced that the Federal Government has approved new regulations prohibiting the depiction of money rituals, ritual killings, tobacco, and nicotine products in Nigerian films.

The regulations, which also ban the glamourization of vices, aim to sanitize the film industry and promote positive health messages.

According to NFVCB Executive Director/CEO Shaibu Husseini, the regulations were approved by the Minister of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, pursuant to section 65 of the NFVCB Act 2004.

The approved regulations have been forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Justice for gazetting.

Husseini emphasized that the glamourization of smoking in films poses a negative influence on teens and young adults, who constitute the largest segment of Nigeria’s movie viewers.

To address this, the NFVCB plans to undertake enlightenment programs in secondary schools, tertiary institutions, local communities, faith groups, and other institutions to promote smoke-free movies and positive health messages.

The NFVCB collaborated with the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) to develop subsidiary regulations to cater to smoking in movies, which was not explicitly addressed in the existing law.

The board is committed to taking leadership in this regard and has planned innovative ways to achieve its mandate.