Nigeria to stop all screenings of District 9

Nigerian authorities have asked all cinemas in the country to stop showing the film District 9 saying that the movie shows Nigerians as gangsters and cannibals.

The Nigerian Government on Saturday ordered its national film ratings board to ask all cinemas to stop showing the Sci-fi blockbuster District 9. It has demanded the producer of the film, Sony, to remove portions of the movie which according to them, show Nigerians in a bad light. Nigerian information Minister Dora Akunyili demanded a full and unconditional apology from Sony for denigrating the country's image. She said,

We feel very bad about this because the film clearly denigrated Nigeria's image by portraying us as if we are cannibals, [or as if] we are criminals.The name our former president was clearly spelt out as the head of the criminal gang and our ladies shown like prostitutes sleeping with extra-terrestrial beings.

However, Malawian actor Eugene Khumbanyiwa, who plays a Nigerian gang leader nicknamed Obasanjo in the film, said that the film should not be taken too literally by Nigerians as it's just another story. He said:

It's a story, you know, It's not like Nigerians do eat aliens. Aliens don't even exist in the first place.

The film, one of the summer's biggest blockbusters, has collected a total of $108 million worldwide in the first month alone.