• Board classifies 1,185 films, pushes for name change
national Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has said sustained growth and diversity drive the Nigeria film industry to higher success. This is just as the board approved and classified 1,185 films between January and December 2025, underscoring an upsurge of activity in the sector.
According to the annual classification report, the films approved during the year spanned a wide range of genres and languages, reflecting both the vibrancy of local film production and the continued submission of foreign-language content for classification in Nigeria. By comparison, the Board classified 1,088 films in 2024, indicating a consistently high level of industry engagement.
English-language films accounted for the highest number of approvals throughout the year, reaffirming their dominance in Nigeria’s film production landscape. Yoruba and Igbo films followed, while Hausa and other indigenous Nigerian language films appeared less frequently. The report, however, noted a broader representation of indigenous languages—such as Nupe, Berom, and Gbagyi—particularly in September 2025, highlighting Nigeria’s cultural diversity. Foreign-language films, including those in Hindi, French, and Japanese, were also classified during the year.
In terms of audience classification, the data reveal a strong concentration of 15 and 18 ratings across all months, indicating that most films approved in 2025 were targeted at mature audiences. Family-friendly classifications such as G, PG, and 12A were comparatively fewer, suggesting limited production of children’s and general-audience content during the year.
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Monthly analysis showed that May 2025 recorded the highest number of film approvals, with 173 titles classified. Overall trends for the year indicate: a consistent dominance of English-language films in monthly approvals; a clear majority of films classified under mature ratings (15 and 18); growing, though still limited, inclusion of indigenous Nigerian languages beyond the major ones.
Commenting on the report, the Board reiterated its commitment to encouraging greater diversity in film production, particularly increased investment in family-friendly content and wider use of Nigeria’s indigenous languages. This aligns with the Executive Director’s ongoing emphasis on promoting cultural representation and inclusivity within the nation’s film industry. The Board had in a bid to encourage more indigenous language films reduced the classification fees of indigenous language films outside of Igbo, Youruba and Hausa.
The Board affirmed that the 2025 classification figures demonstrate sustained momentum in Nigeria’s film sector and reaffirm the NFVCB’s role in ensuring responsible content classification while supporting industry growth.
Speaking at an interactive session with Arts Writers in Lagos, the Executive Director of National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) ,Dr. Shaibu Husseini, lamented that despite the production capacity of the industry, a culture of bypassing the regulator is starving the sector of its accurate data needed to attract massive global investment. He identified lack of institutional registration as an obstacle to Nollywood’s growth.
“The law says that once a film is produced in this country, or imported to be distributed, it must be classified and registered by the NFVCB. But with technology that allows you to distribute your film with your phone from your home, a lot of people don’t bother to send those films to us.” He noted that this setback creates a false narrative in the international market regarding the industry’s scale.
“Investors want to know numbers, but we can’t give them accurate numbers. We are reporting about 2,800 films annually, but it is not true. We make more than that. I dare say we make close to 800 films a month in this country. I know a single lady who produces four films in a month. If we don’t have an index of these films, we cannot have a truly recognised industry.” To him, there will be vigorous enforcement this year in order to combat the menace.
“This year, we are going to spend time implementing that aspect of our law that makes it mandatory for you to send your film to us for classification and registration. We are supposed to keep a register of films.”
In sync with global best practices, Husseini has initiated a name change for the board to National Film and Video Classification Board, which according to him, is being attended to by the National Assembly.
Seeking the support and cooperation of the Arts Writers, the ED stressed that the public needs to be educated, particularly on films that attract undue controversies such as Ini Edo’s A Very Dirty Christmas.
“People need to understand that these things are fiction. Regarding the Christmas film title, it was a metaphor; the film had absolutely nothing to do with the Nativity of Christ. However, the law provides that where there is a public outcry, we can review. We reached an understanding with the filmmakers that the film will be retitled before moving to any other platform.
“A single line can finish a whole film. We watch for those things— not to ban, but to restrict and ensure we don’t use the medium of film to generalise or cause division,” he added.
