Pranksters are currently trying to dominate the skit making space in Nigeria. However, several Nigerians are already worried about the extreme content they are dishing out.
A prank is defined as a mischievous act or a practical joke played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion or discomfort.
It has become a common feature in the Nigeria skit-making space today.
For instance: Prank videos by MC Makopolo, Machigold, Zfancy, TrinityGuy, Kolobo and others abound.
For example, MC Makopolo, in one of his pranks, was seen making calls along the street on a lonely road.
Suddenly, after sighting an innocent young man with tinted hair, he said “yeah, I’ve seen someone with grey hair. I think we can use him for the sacrifice”.
His crew immediately rushed the helpless guy who was pleading for his life. MC Makopolo insisted that his head was for the sacrifice and he was about to be put in the car booth before it was later revealed to be a prank.
Also, Machigold’s pranks, in most cases, are in extreme, with sudden falling down amidst crowd pretending to be shot at.
This has made people sustain life-threatening injuries, and in some situations, many lost their belongings while trying to ‘escape’ from the purported gunshots.
In one of Zfancy’s pranks, he went about people’s homes and shops claiming that he gave someone money and he turned to fish. These pranks made people hostile to him and run for their lives whenever they see him.
Also, people have identified extreme pranks with TrinityGuy because of the manner he usually created content. In one of his contents called Assasin prank, the guy was seen threatening to kill a man because he has been paid to do so. When it was eventually revealed that it was a prank, the victim turned violent, which could have led to loss of life of the prankster if not for the quick intervention of people around the area.
Similarly Kolobo, in one of his violent pranks, was pretending to be a madman, chasing people around the street with a wood plank.
However, no matter how funny these prank videos look, there is an imminent danger. The puzzle is, would Nigerians forfeit the possible hazards for loud laughter?
DAILY POST went around the streets to seek answers.
One Stephanie David said: “Some of these pranks are obnoxious and extremely outplayed. Most of these pranks are regardless of the possible danger to the lives of those who are pranked. I once saw a video of a woman who almost got burnt out of fear because a prankster blew a loud pipe while she was cooking. This is a typical example of a prank gone wrong.”
On his part, Dapo Ibiowotisi said, “Actually, I’m someone who never for once likes pranks, it used to endanger lives. I could remember two months ago when my colleague went to prank someone; but for God’s intervention it would have ended in a loss of life. Pranksters have to add what I will call visibility and total health insurance to whoever they want to prank.”
Also, Temitope Babalola said, “As much as the prank makers are creating content for financial purposes, there is a need for them to exercise restraints in the way they go about it.
“When you look at the way they do it, it looks scary and dangerous and this should not be condoned in the society. I want the relevant authorities to do the needful by coming out to caution the prank makers and go further to set a standard for them.”
Poloum David: “Some pranks scare and endanger people’s lives, it’s wrong on all levels please; people are already going through a lot and pranksters should honestly not worsen it. Truth is, sometimes pranking can be sweet and interesting. But most times, it’s scary. For people with High BP or certain health issues, certain levels of pranks and surprises are a NO NO.”
To get a legal perspective to the matter, DAILY POST spoke with a legal practitioner, Dr Sam Amadi, who said the extreme level of pranks is as a result of a growing trend of people desiring to consume entertainment to the extreme, adding that the addiction to extreme entertainment had fueled the industry of skit making even to the point of creating real threats to other humans.
While explaining that there are offences for public disorder, he noted that the police can get content creators arrested and prosecuted even when there’s no real damage or loss of life.
“So they can be prosecuted for criminal negligence, criminal assault and threat to life. The fact that you are doing a prank or just trying to play is not an excuse if your actions are extremely careless and negligent.
“Whether you are making skit or not, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that if your actions constitute threat or result in injury, you can be charged for it,” he stated.
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