The management of the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has promised to track down and prosecute the producers of the same sex movie, ‘The Best Guy’.
The movie, which has been trending on the internet, is generating questions about the legality or illegality of producing LGBTQ movies in the country.
It is not the first time the Board’s management has clamped down on producers of restricted content in Nigeria.
In 2020, the government agency promised to track down the producers of the lesbian-themed movie, ‘Ije’ and all those involved in it.
Prosecution
Reacting to the movie, the Executive Director of the Board, Shaib Husseini, said that although he has yet to see it, he has directed his operations team to track it, after which a formal report will be submitted to YouTube, where it is streaming.
In a chat with PREMIUM TIMES, the Executive Director said that the Board will obtain information on the producers and pass it on to the respective law enforcement agency, which will take it from there.
“Nobody has the right to distribute same-sex movies in this country, and the movie did not pass through us for classification. That’s what we keep telling filmmakers: irrespective of the platform, the law says that once you produce a film or video, you must submit it to the Censors Board for registration and classification.
“If that film had been sent to us, we would have restricted it. It would get an R rating, which is restricted, because in this territory, the law says that you cannot be seen to be promoting same sex movies,” he said.
He also gave an example of a similar case in which the case was handed over to the police, but the movie producers settled, promising not to produce or promote such content again.
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The Best Guy
Produced by Omeleme Studios and directed by Akpos Otubuere, the movie stars a small cast of Melvin Oduah, Edson Obi, Daniel Uzor, Ayanime Edem, Grace Abah and Chukwudi Udoye Eternal
In ‘The Best Guy’, Reverend Peter (Melvin Oduah) is hours away from getting married, and his secret romantic partner Leslie (Edson Obi) is scared that it might be the end of their relationship.
Unable to bear the thought of sharing him with a woman, Leslie ends things. After an emotionally charged disagreement, the reverend proposes to Leslie, his assistant.
In a twist of events, Leslie finds out that his man’s wife-to-be is not only in on their relationship but has greenlighted the proposal.