8th July, 2015
Mr Ailewon Danlami, the Zonal Coordinator, North Central, National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), said the organisation confiscated 4,182 pornographic movies in Plateau from July 2014 till date.
The coordinator made the disclosure when he visited the National Orientation Agency office in Jos on Wednesday.
He said the movies were confiscated across the 17 local government areas of the state as part of efforts to enforce compliance with the required standard for movie production and classification.
He added that “we confiscated 4,182 pornographic movies worth more than N600,000 to serve as deterrent to defaulters.”
Danlami said the visit to NOA was to form formidable partnership for wider outreach on media literacy across the 17 local government areas of Plateau.
“The purpose of our visit is to collaborate with NOA, which is present in all the 17 council areas of the state for wider and effective reach in terms of media literacy on movies and movies production,” he said.
The NFVCB official said it was easier to control illegal movies when there was awareness on its ills and its implications than when people were not aware of its implications.
He added that many movies were released and distributed illegally in the society but the public had the responsibility to report any illegal “breeding areas” for piracy which could be achieved through creating awareness.
Responding, Mr Bulus Dabit, the Director of NOA in Plateau, said the organisation was ready to partner with NFVCB to enforce compliance of acceptable standards and classification of movies.
“Even though the public has the right to information and entertainment through what they watch and hear, they should not be fed with junk such as pornographic materials,” he stressed.
He said piracy and low quality production could undermine and destroy the foreign exchange revenue derived from the industry.
Dabit added that public enlightenment on the rights to good production could query and push defaulters out of market.
“Standard production can generate foreign exchange for the country and decongest the pressure on crude oil because it has window of opportunities to be harnessed,” the NOA director added.