The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), has said it will track down and prosecute the people behind a film titled The Best Guy that depicts a same‑sex relationship.
The board’s executive director, Shaibu Husseini, told Premium Times that the film was trending online and had not been submitted to the NFVCB for review or classification, as required by Nigerian law.
“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,” he said.
Mr Husseini said he had asked the board’s operations team to gather details about the producers and make a formal report to YouTube, where The Best Guy is being streamed. The board plans to hand information on the filmmakers and anyone else involved to law enforcement for possible prosecution.
He added that if the film had been submitted to the board, it would have received a restricted classification. “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.
The board’s statement referenced a previous case involving another film with same‑sex themes, where the producers agreed not to make or promote such content again after discussions with authorities.
The Best Guy was produced by Omeleme Studios and directed by Akpos Otubuere. It stars Melvin Oduah, Edson Obi, Daniel Uzor, Ayanime Edem, Grace Abah and Chukwudi Udoye. The story follows Reverend Peter, played by Melvin Oduah, who is about to marry a woman while maintaining a secret romantic relationship with a man named Leslie. In the film, Leslie ends the relationship, then later discovers that the reverend’s fiancée is aware of and accepts their involvement.
Nigeria’s laws criminalise same‑sex relationships, and content that appears to promote or normalise such relationships can be subject to legal action. In the past, other filmmakers exploring queer themes, such as the 2020 film Ìfé, released online to avoid censorship challenges, have faced warnings from the NFVCB that their work violates current regulations.
