The National Council for Art and Culture (NCAC) has pleaded with lawmakers to give the council the authority and legal framework it needs to stop crossdressers' and nudity displays across the nation.

Segun Runsewe, the director general of the NCAC, made the appeal on Tuesday during a hearing by an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives. He explained that if the House granted the council the necessary legal framework, it would be able to sanction the producers of Big Brother Naija for nudity seen on the show and also bring legal action against crossdressers in the nation.

A bill in the House would make cross-dressing illegal in Nigeria by amending the Same-Sex (Prohibition) Act. The primary act's sections 4 and 5 are the subject of the amendment, which is proposed by Muda Umar (APC, Bauchi).

The proposed law states that "A person engaging in cross-dressing is guilty of an offense and subject to a fine of five hundred thousand naira or a six-month term of imprisonment."

Speaking before the lawmakers, Runsewe said, “I am the first person who took Big Brother Nigeria to the NBC to report them. Big Brother (organisers) tried to reach me and I told them that if the culture in other parts of the world is to be naked and nudity, they should not bring it to Nigeria because our culture is rich and it respects the integrity of our country.”

Reacting to the request, Alex Egbonna, lawmaker (PDP, Cross-River), complained that Runsewe’s past intervention had not stopped the display of nudes on the show.

Responding to the observation by the lawmaker, Runsewe said, “This honourable house just needs to empower us with just a legal framework and that nonsense will stop.”