The Nigerian government has banned the airing and distribution of the documentary, Fueling Poverty, a 30-minute film which documents the massive poverty in Nigeria and advocates against corruption and greed in the country.
The documentary, released late in 2012, was produced by young filmmaker, Ishaya Bako, in partnership with the Open Society for West Africa [OSIWA].
After the project was completed last
year, Mr. Bako sent it in to the National Film and Video Censors Board,
NFVCB, a national agency which vets, classifies, and approves films and
videos meant for distribution and exhibition in Nigeria.
But in an April 8 letter to Mr. Bako, the agency prohibited the
distribution and exhibition of the documentary in Nigeria, saying its
contents “are highly provocative and likely to incite or encourage
public disorder and undermine national security.”
The letter, signed by the NFVCB’s Head
of Legal Services, Effiong Inwang, warned the filmmaker against
violating the order, saying “all relevant national security agencies are
on the alert. A copy of this letter has been sent to the Director
General, Department of State Services and the Inspector General of
Police for their information.”
The banning of the documentary, seen by
critics as further evidence of Nigeria’s creeping descent into
dictatorship, came on the same day that four journalists of Abuja-based
Leadership newspaper were detained by the police for refusing to name
their source for a story which alleged the presidency was plotting to
sabotage the merger of the leading opposition parties in the country.
HBC: What ever happened to freedom of speech and that of information?
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