R-L: The Executive Director, NFVCB, Dr. Husseini Shaibu, Teco Benson, notable filmmaker, Ayo Oyewole, Head, Public Affairs, EFCC Lagos Directorate, and Steve Onu, a.k.a. Yaw.
Filmmakers have received an appeal from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conduct due diligence before accepting funding for movie productions.
Mr. Olanipekun Olukayode, the Commission’s chairman, stated this at the National Film and Video Censors Board Round Table Forum with film producers, exhibitors and distributors, titled” Morality and Ethics in Film Production in Nigeria at the Second Lagos International Film and Cinema Convention.
Represented by Ayo Oyewole, Head, Public Affairs, EFCC, Lagos Directorate, the chairman challenged filmmakers to ensure that the film industry did not become a soft target for funds laundered illegally from outside the financial system.
Said he: “Filmmakers must conduct due diligence on funds for their productions otherwise they act as courier for illicit funds”.
The EFCC boss stated that there was need for filmmakers to carry out know-your-customer test before accessing any funding.
The Executive Director of the National Film and Video Censors Board, Dr. Husseini Shaibu, collaborated the claim by the EFCC.
Said Husseini: “With the abrogation of tobacco advertising in the electronic and print media, and the EFCC closing down on estate developers, the film industry naturally becomes the next target for illicit funds”.
In his response, the President of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN), Mr. Opeyemi Ajayi, informed the EFCC representative that his request was difficult for the film industry to meet because the sector was private-driven.
Averred: “The film industry doesn’t receive any funding or grants from the government”.
Teco Benson, another prominent filmmaker, shared the same sentiment, advising the EFCC to put money down for Productions if they wanted certain films produced, or commission documentaries. He said the onus was on the EFCC to track the owners of the funds, while filmmakers were concerned about how to repay the funds advanced to them.
Responding further, Oyewole admitted that the EFCC did not provide funding for film prodctions and also had no say in the direction of the script, rather, was only appealing to filmmakers to change the narrative for the betterment of the economy.
Husseini further adominished filmmakers to pay greater attention to the sources of funds for their film productions and the promotion of crimes in their films, noting that his only regret was that “the consequences of crime in some films are usually not commensurate with the crime committed by the antagonist in some movies”.
