Over 1 billion uncensored pornographic films seized in 2021 – Censors Board

The Executive Director, National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Adedayo Thomas, said about one billion copies of uncensored, unclassified, and pornographic films were seized in 2021.

Mr Thomas disclosed in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Mr Thomas said the pornographic videos, in the form of compact discs, were seized in tranches across different states of the Federation and were burnt immediately.

According to him, the NFVCB achieved this with the collaboration of security officers.

Mr Thomas said that the censors’ board was not resting on its oars in ensuring that children and youths were not exposed to obscene videos and videos with vulgar languages.

He told NAN that NFVCB had consistently engaged in increasing the capacity of its staff to discharge their duties responsibly and timely.

“In 2021, we were able to seize over one billion pieces of pornographic videos; we will be seizing more this year.

“Most of the people who traded in these were retailers.

”We are working on curbing the circulation of these uncensored and unclassified works going through the streaming companies,” he said.

He said some of the staff and security officials were usually on the ground to track the activities of illegal operators in the industry.

Sensitisation

According to him, NFVCB is also engaging in a media literacy campaign to secondary schools and universities to sensitize them against unlicensed and uncensored films.

He said the campaign would enlighten the younger generation on the adverse effects of producing films against the nation’s culture, which would guide against future reoccurrence.

Mr Thomas noted that in trying to curb the circulation of obscene videos, NFVCB tried to professionalise the film industry such that only films produced by legally registered film producers were censored.

He said with this arrangement, ”it believed that registered film producers would be conversant with the dictates of the Censors Board and would not produce films with contents that were not certified”.

“We tried to professionalize the film industry going through the dictate of the act that established NFVCB.

“The act states that anybody who is not a member of a professional association or guild cannot present films to be censored, so in that light, the professional associations must inform the Censors Board.

“With this development which commenced last year, we have recorded 18 associations and guilds who have registered with us.

“The multiplier effect of this is to identify those who belong to this industry which will, in turn, help us in ensuring that unclassified, uncensored, and pornographic works are not circulated.

“We cannot sleep and leave the future of our children with hoodlums,” he told NAN.

Mr Thomas said most NFVCB activities aim to ensure that President Muhammadu Buhari’s ease of doing business policy is actualised. He said Nigeria needs a healthy environment for businesses to thrive.

This, he says, ”calls for the NFVCB to work with only registered filmmakers to encourage professionalism because Nigeria is not a dumping ground for all”.

“We are constantly working to make the society a better place,” he said.

(NAN)