Over Two thousand (2,000) copies of suspected pirated educational books worth three million Naira (N3, 000, 000) were confiscated by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) during an antipiracy operation carried out at some printing outlets in Fagbeyiro Street, Shomolu, Lagos State on 17th February 2022.
The Director, NCC Lagos Office, Mr. Matthew Ojo who disclosed this, noted that during the operation, Copyright Inspectors backed by armed Police Officers arrested five persons involved in printing suspected pirated educational books.
He identified the arrested suspects as Lawrence Abayomi Samuel, Aremu Olawale, Ahmed Hassan, Michael Segun and Alhaji Sodiq Oyegun and added that investigation was ongoing towards their prosecution.
According to him, the seizures which were in contravention of the Copyright Act were at different stages of printing. They included examination study books such as Lasswell Evergreen Solutions Basic Education Certificate Examination (NECO) 2017-2021, 2021-2022 by Kunle Dagunduro; and Ogun State Lasswell Evergreen Solutions for Basic Education Certificate Covering Study Questions on Mathematics, English Langauge, Basic Science and Technology, National Values Education, Pre-Vocational and Business Studies. Other were History, Cultural and Creative Arts, French, Yoruba, Arabic, Islamic Religious Studies (IRS) and Christian Religious Studies (CRS).
The Director, who noted that the operation was a follow up to an earlier surveillance carried out by Copyright Inspectors, cautioned stakeholders in the printing industry to desist from illegal practices. He stressed that the Commission would continue to take all necessary measures in its quest to ensure the protection of copyright owners and investors in the creative sector.
He noted that printers were obligated under the Copyright Act to keep registers of works and ensure due diligence in the clearance of rights, stressing that “the Commission is working out a new regulatory framework for printers and booksellers to ensure that they operate within the bounds of the law”.
Mr. Ojo further explained that the Commission, in a renewed commitment to check piracy, has intensified its periodic vigilance and routine inspection of printing facilities to curtail criminal activities across the state.
He gave assurances that the Commission was committed to disrupting the production and inflow of pirated materials in the book distribution chain and warned pirates and their collaborators to desist from the crime or prepare to face the wrath of the law.