IN line with efforts of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to rid Nigeria of pirated works, the Port Harcourt office of the Commission on the 26th and 29th of September 2023 destroyed pirated materials and contrivances worth N5.5 million Naira in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The State Coordinator, NCC Port Harcourt office, Mrs. Nkechi Ezinma who disclosed this in a report, stated that the Portharcourt office embarked on the exercise following a directive from the Director-General, NCC Dr. John Asein to carry out the destruction of the pirated materials after due process.

The SC who also granted a press interview at the destruction site located at a government approved waste recycling/ dumping site at Eneka, a suburb of Port Harcourt, cautioned consumers to desist from patronising pirated products describing Intellectual Property theft as economic sabotage that kills creativity and destroys the economy.

Mrs. Ezinma also echoed the DG’s message that the Commission has stepped up its fight against piracy across the country and that violators of the Copyright Laws of the country would be arrested and prosecuted in line with the renewed mandate of the Commission as provided in the Copyright Act 2022.

Speaking further, the State Coordinator, explained that the exhibits evacuated and destroyed were those with zero evidential or prosecutorial value. The aim of the exercise, she noted, was also to decongest the office space located on the 7th Floor of the Federal Secretariat in Port Harcourt.

Exhibits destroyed during the exercise include: Decoders, DVD plates, VCD plates, books, splitters etc.

The destruction was carried out by Sosocare Nigeria, an NGO, in the business of solid waste recycling and monitored by officers from Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) and correspondents from media organisations.

 

Andrew Dyege.

Assistant Director/PAD