The Kano State Film Censorship Board has banned the screening of movies that depict or promote crossdressing and thuggery within the state.
The announcement was made by Executive Secretary Abba El-Mustapha during a meeting with Kannywood, the Hausa-language film industry.
El-Mustapha said the ban comes amid public concerns about the influence of such content on young people and the erosion of traditional values.
“It is high time to fish out any film that may demoralise our customs, norms, and values in the name of reaching popularity, viewers, or business making,” El-Mustapha said.
Meanwhile, the police recently said cross-dressing is not a crime and does not warrant the arrest of those in the act.
Police Public Relations Officer Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who spoke during a Channels TV interview on Tuesday, said the issue of cross-dressing is a very tricky situation.
“Well, there are some cases that are always very difficult to prove. Fine, I am not ruling out that we have many of them. Let us be reasonable, you can’t have someone you want to prosecute without having credible evidence against them,” he said.
“I have not read anywhere where crossdressing is an offence in Nigeria. But if you, for instance, you want to prove a case of rape, rape has points to prove. If any one of those points is missing, you may lose your case in court.
“Let us be reasonable, you can’t arrest somebody you want to prosecute without having credible evidence against and as such, cross dressing is not a crime yet in Nigeria.”
