Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos has described the movie, “Gangs of Lagos”, as defamatory and sacrilegious for depicting the ‘Eyo’ as criminal gangs that commit disgusting murder and visit terror on innocent citizens.
The traditional ruler raised concerns about the film in a three-page letter he addressed to the managements of Amazon Prime Nigeria and Greoh Ltd. on June 28, listing four conditions that the producers and promoters should meet within 14 days.
Akiolu called Amazon Web Service, Greoh Studios and the film producers “to immediately remove, cease and desist from using the image getup and manifestation of the Eyo in the Gangs of Lagos,” according to NAN. 
According to the traditional ruler, the film has inflicted huge reputational damage on the Eyo brand.Gangs of Lagos, since its release has been a subject of controversies among the indigenous people of Lagos State with the Isale Eko Descendants Union (IDU) claiming that the film depicted Isale Eko as a den of criminals and Eyo masquerade as a gang of murderers.
The descendants of Isale Eko had equally instituted a suit seeking N10 billion damages against Amazon and other producers over what they described as huge reputational damage the Gangs of Lagos inflicted on the Eyo brand.
The traditional ruler claimed that on the international stage, potential tourists and visitors to Lagos were likely to query the authenticity of the Eyo as true cultural heritage event deserving of respect and reverence.He further claimed that the film producers had used the complete getup, indistinguishable image and traditionally designed and ordained appearance of the Eyo which forms part of the cultural heritage of the indigenous people of Lagos for commercial gain and exploitation.
This, he said, was done without permission or due reference to the office of the Oba of Lagos.“This cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artefacts and intangible attributes that has been inherited from past generations over two hundred years ago, maintained in the present by the Oba of Lagos and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.”
The Oba alleged that the film grossly violated the rights of the indigenous people of Lagos contrary to the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007Under international law, Oba Akiolu noted that the declaration protects “our indigenous right to practise and revitalise our cultural traditions and customs.
