By Maroof Asudemade
Nigeria’s booming skit-making industry has become one of the country’s most successful digital enterprises. Young creatives armed with smartphones, cameras and social media accounts have built thriving careers from comedy content, attracting millions of followers and lucrative endorsement deals.

But beneath the laughter lies a growing danger that authorities can no longer afford to ignore. Across cities and towns, a disturbing trend has emerged: skitmakers increasingly stage dangerous pranks on unsuspecting members of the public in pursuit of views, virality and cash rewards from social media platforms.

One particularly troubling example is the recurring prank in which a skitmaker suddenly accosts an innocent passerby and accuses him of committing a serious crime. Sometimes, the prankster pretends to be an armed security officer. In other instances, he threatens to shoot or arrest the victim while shouting accusations that attract public attention.

The victim, unaware that cameras are secretly recording the scene, is thrown into panic. Hearts race. Blood pressure rises. Some break into tears. Others tremble uncontrollably. Only after several agonising minutes does the skitmaker reveal that the entire episode was merely a prank. The cameras capture relief and nervous laughter, but they rarely capture the emotional trauma inflicted on the victim.

What if the person being pranked suffers from hypertension? What if an elderly victim collapses from shock? What if a frightened citizen reacts in self-defence? What if an armed security officer nearby mistakes the scene for a genuine threat? These are not hypothetical concerns. They are real possibilities in a country already grappling with insecurity, kidnappings, armed robberies and violent crimes.

The list of dangerous pranks continues to grow. Some skitmakers pretend to be kidnappers chasing people through public places. Others stage fake thefts, snatching bags or phones from unsuspecting victims before revealing the joke. Some pretend to be mentally unstable individuals who suddenly attack pedestrians. Others stage fake accidents, fake arrests, fake abductions or fake emergencies that trigger panic among members of the public.

There are even instances where pranksters deliberately invade personal spaces, destroy property, create public disturbances or provoke confrontations simply to generate content. The pursuit of online engagement has created a dangerous culture where shock value is increasingly rewarded.

The problem is not comedy itself. Humour has always been part of society. Satire can educate. Comedy can heal. Skits can entertain while addressing social issues. The problem arises when innocent citizens become unwilling participants in potentially harmful experiments. No individual should leave home in the morning and become a prop in somebody else’s content production without consent. The rights of ordinary citizens matter. Their dignity matters. Their safety matters. Their emotional wellbeing matters.

More worrying is the apparent absence of regulatory enforcement. Nigeria has governments at the federal, the state and the local levels. Security agencies are present across the country. Yet, many dangerous public pranks are carried out openly in markets, streets, motor parks and other public spaces without consequences. This raises serious questions. At what point does a prank become harassment? At what point does content creation become public nuisance? At what point does entertainment become a threat to public safety?

The law must draw clear boundaries. The Inspector-General of Police should urgently issue operational guidelines concerning prank-related content creation in public places. Such guidelines should prohibit skits that involve threats of violence, fake criminal allegations, simulated kidnappings, fake shootings, impersonation of security personnel and other activities capable of causing panic.

Offenders should face appropriate sanctions.
Content creators who wish to involve members of the public should obtain consent and ensure that their productions do not expose innocent citizens to emotional, psychological or physical harm. The objective should not be to suppress creativity. Rather, it should be to ensure that creativity operates within reasonable limits of public safety.

The Nigerian creative industry has demonstrated extraordinary talent and innovation. It should not be remembered for preventable tragedies. Today, these dangerous pranks generate laughter. Tomorrow, they may generate scary headlines.

The difference between comedy and catastrophe can sometimes be a matter of seconds. That is why the time to act is now. Before a prank goes wrong. Before an innocent citizen dies from shock. Before a security misunderstanding turns deadly. Before a nation discovers, too late, that some jokes are simply not worth the risk.