R!tual K#llings: House of Rep. blames Nollywood, calls for declaration of a state of emergency

The House of Representatives has blamed Nollywood for the rising cases or r!tual k#llings in Nigeria, as it calls for the declaration of a state of emergency on the menace.

At the plenary on Wednesday, February 9, the lawmakers asked the National Orientation Agency (NOA), stakeholders and the media to initiate a campaign towards changing the situation in the country. It also asked the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali, to take urgent steps towards tackling ritual killings in the country.

The House also called on the Executive Director, National Film and Video Censors Board, Adedayo Thomas, to rise to the mandate of the agency, while mandating its Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values to ensure that the resolution was complied with.

This followed a motion by the Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Toby Okechukwu (Enugu, PDP), who raised alarm over the surge in r!tual related k#llings across the country.

Speaking on Nollywood, he said, “The House is mindful of the role of the Nigerian movie industry in moulding behavioural patterns in our society, vis-à-vis the mandate of the National Film and Video Censors Board as a clearing house for movies produced in the country.

The House is cognisant of the fact that a lot needs to be done by the police and other law enforcement agencies to check this u#ly trend.”