The legal battle against the producers of acclaimed but controversial film, ‘Gangs of Lagos’, appears to have produced a precedence instructive to filmmakers as the defendants have agreed to apologise over the portrayal of the Eyo masquerade in the movie.

They are to apologise alongside Amazon Prime which distributed the work.

It is part of a settlement approved by a Lagos High Court between the Isale Eko Descendants’ Union (IDU) and the producers.

The judgement has the potential to guide or caution filmmakers against licentious picturing of cultural and other related monuments since would-be affected stakeholders would now be emboldened to go to court.

‘Gangs of Lagos’, directed by Jade Osiberu and produced by Kemi Lala Akindoju, was released on Amazon’s Prime Video on April 7, 2023, and drew significant backlash for portraying Isale Eko as a criminal hub and the Eyo Masquerade as a murderous gang.

Contents

The legal battle against the producers of acclaimed but controversial film, ‘Gangs of Lagos’, appears to have produced a precedence instructive to filmmakers as the defendants have agreed to apologise over the portrayal of the Eyo masquerade in the movie.They are to apologise alongside Amazon Prime which distributed the work.It is part of a settlement approved by a Lagos High Court between the Isale Eko Descendants’ Union (IDU) and the producers.

In response, the IDU took legal action seeking N10 billion in damages from Amazon and the filmmakers.

On February 20, Judge Idowu Alakija ruled that the parties had agreed to settle the matter amicably, with the court ordering the filmmakers and Amazon to issue formal apologies for “erroneously portraying and disparaging the cultural heritage” of the Eyo Masquerade and Isale Eko.

In exchange, the IDU and its affiliated chieftaincy families have agreed to withdraw all claims and legal actions, and to refrain from pursuing further lawsuits related to the film.

“The Parties agree that this Term of Settlement is binding, and the applicants shall not further commence, file, maintain, continue, pursue, or prosecute against the respondents, any complaint, claims, suit, arbitration, or other administrative or proceedings of any kind based upon or related to the subject matter,” the court documents read in part.

Reacting to the decision, Adeniji Kazeem, chairman of the Isale Eko Descendants’ Union, said the community “feels vindicated by this judgement.” He also urged national and state film censors to be more vigilant in reviewing films that use cultural material. “Furthermore, we assert that there are strong imperatives for Lagos state to revisit its constitutional rights to properly oversee the production and censorship of films utilizing its cultural material and resources,” he said.