Kano govt bans movies depicting cross-dressing, thuggery

The Kano State Film Censorship Board has banned movies depicting or endorsing cross-dressing and thuggery in the state. 

The Board’s executive secretary, Abba El-Mustapha disclosed this Wednesday, April 3, during a meeting with the management and stakeholders from Kannywood. 

A statement by the board’s spokesman, Abdullahi Sani Sulaiman, said the decision to prohibit those films was made in response to public concern about the potential promotion of criminal activities and inappropriate behaviors among young people.

El-Mustapha said, “It is high time to fish out any film that may demoralize our customs, norms and values in the name of reaching popularity, viewers or business making.” 

This comes after the Nigeria Police Force PRO, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said that cross-dressing is not a crime under the Nigerian law. Adejobi explained that this is why controversial crossdresser, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, and others like him can’t be arrested. 

He noted that cross-dressing might not align with societal norms but said that the police were bound by the law and could not arrest individuals based solely on their choice of clothing or lifestyle.