The Islamic Movement in Nigeria has dragged the Nigerian Army to the Inspector general of police and Films and Censorship board over a new movie, Fatal Arrogance, featuring Nollywood icon, Pete Edochie.
The Nigerian soldiers also featured in the movie.
The film shot in Enugu, is produced by Anosike Kingsley Orji, who has touted it, a hit.
The movie is based on a book of same name and IMN contended it is a propagandist portrayal of its detained leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky and the Shiite followers.
IMN linked the film to Kuanum Terrence, accused of being a military apologist.
Terrence also has a N500million libel suit on his head, filed against him in June by Publisher of PR Nigeria, Mallam Yushau Shuaib .
IMN believes that the movie is being sponsored by the Nigerian Army and is especially worried that a Nollywood big gun, Pete Edochie is lending it some credibility.
IMN made its position known today in a statement released by Ibrahim Musa, President Media Forum of the Movement. The statement was titled: “Shame on producers of FATAL ARROGANCE”.
“In a normal circumstance, this kind of clips can be dismissed but not at times like these when Buhari regime is sponsoring a contractor/activist for, and supported by, the Nigerian Army like Kuanum Terrence and security operatives to launch offensive on the Islamic Movement that has a reputation for upholding peace even at the peak of unprovoked attacks.”
“The Islamic Movement in Nigeria wishes to call upon the respected professionals of Nollywood to address this issue immediately.
“If film producers are not careful some disgruntled elements in governance will make them side with the oppressors against the oppressed as the film “Fatal Arrogance” is meant to achieve.
“Genocide is involved here; any move to justify the brutal and inhuman Zaria genocide of December 2015 is an affront on the Rome Status of the International Criminal Court.”
Below is the press statement of IMN:
On September 9, 2020, some bizarre video clips of FATAL ARROGANCE, a movie produced and directed by Anosike Kingsley Orji, alongside shots from a movie location in Enugu surfaced on the internet, where half-cladded women dressed in a cult-like outfits, heads covered with scarfs, with sharp swords gripped to their hands, with others holding banners and flags displaying a bearded man in turban and gown while chanting meaningless protest-like slogans. We are of course shocked by the film where the popular Islamic Movement in Nigeria and its leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky are being depicted and badly portrayed as terrorists.
In a normal circumstance, this kind of clips can be dismissed but not at times like these when Buhari regime is sponsoring a contractor/activist for, and supported by, the Nigerian Army like Kuanum Terrence and security operatives to launch offensive on the Islamic Movement that has a reputation for upholding peace even at the peak of unprovoked attacks.
Evidently, for every Nigerian these clips are meant to disparage the peaceful movement and portray it to the world as a violent armed movement. Also, the movie on the pipeline has the same title with Terrence’s book that died on its arrival, where he blamed the victims of terror for being their own nemesis. He had launched what he called a book titled ‘Fatal Arrogance: How El-Zakzaky Hypnotized IMN Members into Killing Themselves while Protecting Him’. As ridiculous as the name may sounds, the content is not far from that too.
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria wishes to call upon the respected professionals of Nollywood to address this issue immediately. If film producers are not careful some disgruntled elements in governance will make them side with the oppressors against the oppressed as the film “Fatal Arrogance” is meant to achieve. Genocide is involved here; any move to justify the brutal and inhuman Zaria genocide of December 2015 is an affront on the Rome Status of the International Criminal Court.
After the Zaria Genocide, the Buhari regime launched massive campaigns of calumny and demonization against Sheikh Zakzaky, the Movement and Shia Islam using Saudi petrodollars. Books were written to further this hate campaigns and “Fatal Arrogance” is one of those books. The regime saw that Nigerians did not show interest in that book because it is full of lies, fraudulent fabrications and gross distortion of history. They then decided to use a famous father of the Nigerian film industry Pete Edochie to produce a film that will change the true narration of history and justify their brutal murder of thousands of innocent Shia civilians in Nigeria.
However, most Nigerians are aware that all Free Zakzaky protests are peaceful. It is the Nigerian Army and Police that violently attacked these protests and they have killed hundreds of innocent civilians that included women and children. Why spread the fraudulent propaganda that these peaceful protesters are carrying guns and bombs? History will never be kind on any film producer for this monstrous evil of spreading fabricated and fraudulent propaganda to justify a genocide and multiple massacres of innocent and defenseless civilians.
We want the world, Nigerians in particular to bear witness that this film FATAL ARROGANCE can be used in creating conflicts among our diverse communities. It is a propaganda machine that can deceive millions, and it’s also an easy way to use for character assassination. It can be used to distort the truth, free criminals and blame the victims as well as making the bad guys the good guys. We therefore call on well-meaning Nigerians to exert pressure on the producers of that abominable film to stop it.
For now, we have petitioned the Films and Censorship board, and the Inspector General of police on the matter. We await their response before we take further action on the issue.