Governor Sanwo-Olu Urged to Halt Exploitation of Film Industry Workers

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SOME things never change. Despite repeated promises by the Federal Government to eliminate nuisance taxes and extortion, street urchins and louts continue to terrorise Nigerians openly. Transporters, traders, market operators, and importers unloading goods remain easy prey.

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Now, even Nollywood crews are under siege. The Federal Government must ensure that its new tax laws are enforced vigorously instead of existing merely on paper.

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The extortionists recently met resistance when some of them confronted Nollywood actress and producer Bimbo Ademoye while she was shooting a movie scene on a Lagos street. The louts demanded money before allowing filming to continue.

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Ademoye stood her ground. Refusing to be intimidated, she challenged their aggressive conduct and warned them to back off, or she would “show them her background in the streets.”

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Ademoye is not just any actress; she is a celebrated, award-winning Nollywood star known for major productions such as Anikulapo, Sugar Rush, and Selina.

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That ugly encounter, captured in a viral video, was another shameful advertisement of Nigeria to the world.

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While public officials routinely blame social media for amplifying the country’s problems, they do little to address the underlying rot. Open extortion on the streets has become normalised, projecting Nigeria as a disorderly society where criminality thrives in plain sight.

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This is especially embarrassing for Lagos, widely regarded as not only Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre but also West Africa’s economic hub.

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Lagos is the largest city economy in West Africa and the second-largest city economy in Africa after Cairo, with a GDP estimated at $259.75 billion in purchasing power parity terms as of early 2025.

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The Lagos Development Update 2026 report projects the state’s nominal GDP to rise to N73.15 trillion this year, buoyed by easing inflation, stronger consumer spending, and improved revenue mobilisation.

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The state government boasts that if Lagos were a country, it would rank as the eighth-largest economy in Africa, larger than 46 African countries.

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Yet, beneath these glittering economic statistics lies the ugly reality of lawlessness and extortion.

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Lagos accounts for almost 30 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP, while thousands of creatives earn their livelihoods in the state.

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Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, therefore, owes residents and businesses a duty to rid the streets of these louts. Creative professionals already pay taxes and levies; they should not be subjected to harassment by non-state actors operating as street enforcers.

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Nollywood is not a fringe industry. It is one of Nigeria’s strongest cultural and economic exports.

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Reports indicate that the Nigerian box office generated N4.6 billion in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 31 per cent increase from the N3.5 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

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The industry is projected to surpass N20 billion in total box office revenue by the end of 2026. Productions such as Love and New Notes have already shattered records, including the highest-grossing opening weekend for a 2026 release.

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Nollywood actress and filmmaker Funke Akindele’s latest cinema release, Behind The Scenes, crossed the N1 billion mark at the box office, cementing its place among the most commercially successful films in Nigerian cinema history.

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FilmOne Entertainment described it as the fastest film in West Africa to gross over N1 billion. It also set the record for the highest single-day box office revenue ever on Boxing Day, raking in N129.5 million.

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This thriving industry deserves protection, not intimidation.

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The Lagos State Government deserves some credit for periodic crackdowns on street miscreants.

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However, the menace persists across the metropolis. Film crews, motorists, truck drivers, traders, and ordinary residents still encounter harassment daily from “agberos” and “omotaku,” who extort money with brazen impunity.

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Motorists with broken-down vehicles are routinely harassed. Entrepreneurs are forced to part with money while loading or offloading goods. These illegal levies increase business costs, discourage investment, and undermine productivity.

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This menace directly contradicts the Ease of Doing Business agenda repeatedly championed by governments at both the federal and state levels.

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No serious investor wants to operate in an environment where criminal gangs impose unofficial taxes openly on the streets.

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Estimates suggest that agberos collect about N123 billion annually in illegal tolls across Lagos State. That figure represents a parallel economy thriving outside the law while authorities look away.

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The Joint Tax Board and the National Revenue Service must therefore pursue their promise to eliminate nuisance taxes with seriousness and urgency. Extortion cannot coexist with a modern economy aspiring to global competitiveness.

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However, enforcement alone will not solve the problem. Lagos State needs a strategic rehabilitation and empowerment programme to redirect these mostly young men away from criminality and into productive ventures.

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Many of them are unemployed youths trapped in cycles of poverty, political manipulation, and violence.

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Politicians bear significant responsibility for this crisis. During elections, these louts are often recruited as political thugs, empowered with money and influence, then abandoned afterwards. That dangerous alliance has entrenched a culture of impunity and street violence.

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Politicians must stop weaponising poverty and joblessness for electoral gain. By turning youths into instruments of intimidation, they destroy lives and weaken society.

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The extortion of Nollywood crews should serve as a warning. A state that prides itself as Africa’s economic powerhouse cannot allow criminal gangs to dominate its streets and harass legitimate businesses openly.

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Sanwo-Olu must act decisively. Lagos cannot claim greatness while extortion thrives as a parallel system of taxation.

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