Nollywood upcoming movie, ‘Fatal Arrogance’ starring Pete Edochie and Destiny Etiko has caused controversy as Shiite Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) petitioned against it.
IMN says the movie produced and directed by Anosike Kingsley Orji depicts their movement as a terrorist organisation bent on eradicating the Nigerian State.
According to the storyline of “Fatal Arrogance”, the movie portrays incident between the Shiite Sect and the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai in Kaduna. The incident led to the killing of over 1,000 members of the sect including children of its leader Sheik El-Zakzaky.
Recall that Zakzaky himself and his wife have been in prison since the incident while the Kaduna State government proscribed the group. This has been the basis for the deadly protests by members of the sect in Abuja and Kaduna, calling for the release of their leader and his wife.
The group also states that the movie’s storyline is not a coincidence as its title was gotten from a book “Fatal Arrogance” written by Kuanum Terrence and both convey same plot.
In a statement issued on Thursday, 10th September, the President of the Media forum for the Shiite group, Ibrahim Musa alleged that the movie which was capable of causing disunity in the country was being sponsored by the Nigerian Army.
He said;
“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.
“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 as Kuanum 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 Hypnotised IMN Members into Killing Themselves while Protecting Him’. As ridiculous as the name may sound, the content is not far from that too.
The IMN stated that the movie was capable of creating conflicts and discord in an already divided country.
“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 put pressure on the producers of that abominable film to stop it.”
