Piracy: Nigerian Copyright Commission raids shops in Adamawa

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) raided some shops and confiscated 30 Laptop Computers for alleged theft of intellectual property in Yola.

Mr Yusuf Ibrahim, NCC state Coordinator, Yola zonal office, disclosed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) on Tuesday in Yola.

Ibrahim said that the raid followed complaints  received from the Yola branch office of the Film Image Protection Association of Nigeria ( FIPAN).

He said that the members of the association forwarded the complaints to the commission that intellectual properties belonging to Kannywood film industry were downloaded illegally in Yola and its environs.

”The properties include Musicals and Films from Kannywood which they complained were on sale to the public through the black market and neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and Central African Republic.

” When the commission received the petition, we swung into action with support from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

” During the operation, many shops were raided and laptop computers confiscated.

” We invited 20 suspects to our commission. We are making preparation to expand our operations to other local government areas of the state,” he said.

He called on the general public to report any suspicious, illegal and theft of intellectual activity to the commission for immediate response and protection of intellectual rights.

“I am appealing to the creative and Intellectual Work owners to register with the commission for ownership protection rights,” he said

NAN reports that the NCC says Nigeria losses three billion dollars (N918 trillion) annually to the activities of pirates.

The commission said that the expansion of high-speed internet around the world, the proliferation of portable devices and the rise of online streaming platforms had made tackling illegal exploitation of rights more difficult. It added that thousands of websites that illegally stream sporting and entertainment content in real time threaten the copyright in content.