Amazon asks court to dismiss suit against ‘Gangs of Lagos’ over jurisdiction

Amazon, the entertainment company, is seeking the dismissal of the suit against ‘Gangs of Lagos‘.

Directed by Jade Osiberu, ‘Gangs of Lagos’ was released to the public via Amazon’s Prime Video on April 7.

The film tells the story of a group of friends forced to navigate the hardship of growing up on the streets of Lagos.

But ‘Gangs of Lagos’ was faulted for depicting the Isale Eko community of the state as a den of criminals and the local Eyo Masquerade as a gang of murderers — although the movie’s producers clarified that the events are fictional.

Some Lagos indigenes under the Isale Eko Descendants Union (IDU) moved to take legal action over the project.

The union instituted a suit seeking ₦10 billion damages against Amazon and other ‘Gangs of Lagos’ producers.

In response, Amazon filed a preliminary objection to the IDU lawsuit, where the entertainment company argued that the Lagos government lacked the constitutional power to censor films produced within its territory.

Amazon argued that “the Cinematograph Law of Lagos State, 2004 is not applicable to video and film censorship in the state”.

In the objection dated June 30, the entertainment firm asked the court to dismiss the suit on the ground that the Cinematograph Law of Lagos State, 2004 was enacted outside the legislative competence of the Lagos state house of assembly.

Amazon sought an order “pursuant to section 25(1)(q) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999” striking out the suit as the court “does not have jurisdiction to entertain it”.

“The appropriate law is the National Film and Video Censor Board Act, 1993, an Act of the national, which has already covered the field,” it argued.

The court, which is being presided over by Idowu Alakija, has fixed October 9, to determine Amazon’s preliminary objection to the suit filed by the descendants of Isale Eko against the production of ‘Gang of Lagos’.

The claimants to the IDU suit include Ayodele Bajulaiye, who sued for the Bajulaiye Chieftaincy Family and Eyo Iga Bajulaiye, and Abdul-Waheed Ayeni, a chief who sued on behalf of the Sasore Chieftaincy Family and Eyo Iga Sasore.

The defendants are Jadesola Osiberu, Kemi Lala Akindoju, Adesegun Adetoro, Demi Olubanwo, Olumide Soyombo, Bankole Wellington, Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Kola Aina, Greoh Limited, and Amazon Web Services Nigeria.

Amazon founded Prime Video Nigeria which only just debuted ‘Gangs of Lagos’ as its first original production.