Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos has described the movie “Gangs of Lagos” as defamatory and sacrilegious for depicting the ‘Eyo’ as criminal gangs that commit grotesque murder and visit terror on innocent citizens.
The traditional ruler raised concerns about the film in a three-page letter he addressed to the managements of Amazon Prime Nigeria and Greoh Ltd. on June 28, listing four conditions that the producers and promoters should meet within 14 days.
Akiolu called Amazon Web Service, Greoh Studios and the film producers “to immediately remove, cease and desist from using the image getup and manifestation of the Eyo in the Gangs of Lagos.”
The traditional ruler said the film has inflicted huge reputational damage on the Eyo brand.
Gangs of Lagos, since its release has been a subject of controversies among the indigenous people of Lagos State with the Isale Eko Descendants Union claiming that the film depicted Isale Eko as a den of criminals and Eyo masquerade as a gang of murderers.
The descendants of Isale Eko had equally instituted a suit seeking N10 billion damages against Amazon and other producers over what they described as huge reputational damage the Gangs of Lagos inflicted on the Eyo brand.
Akiolu, in his letter, copied Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, claiming that the illegal representation of the Eyo by the movie had caused huge reputational damage to the Eyo brand.
The traditional ruler also claimed that on the international stage, potential tourists and visitors to Lagos were likely to query the authenticity of the Eyo as true cultural heritage event deserving of respect and reverence.
