THE Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), have consented to mutual collaborations to address infractions in the Nigerian creative sector and to address concerns of stakeholders.
This collaborative agreement was reached during a courtesy visit by the Director-General, National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Dr. Shuaibu Husseni and his Management team to the NCC headquarters, Abuja on 7th October 2025.
Addressing the Director-General, NFVCB and his team the Director-General, NCC, Dr. John Asein, commended them for the visit and for being a partner in the creative ecosystem working with a common goal for sustenance of the sector and creatives. He assured of the Commission’s disposition and commitment to a workable synergy and readiness to formalize the collaboration to enhance good working relationships.
Speaking on some of the infractions in the sector and complaints from stakeholders, he said there is need to revisit some of the provisions in the Copyright Act and improve on some of the available protections to address it in line with the peculiarities of the Nigerian environment. He informed that regulations will be rolled out where there is immediate need while the NCC legal team will be interfacing with the NFVCB legal team to streamline some of the regulations to address issues of piracy for the different sectors in the creative industry.
Dr. Asein, underscored the Commission’s new drive for online piracy which is being intensified following the kick off of the WIPO funded project, to address digital piracy in different markets in Africa with Nigeria as a beneficiary. He further announced the setting up of the Special Taskforce against online Piracy following the ongoing support and collaboration from the Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NIRA) and called on stakeholders to subscribe to the Taskforce. Some of the operational guidelines of the Taskforce, according to the DG, is to provide immediate reporting points and provide appropriate protocol for immediate interventions.
The Director-General, NFVCB, raised concerns on the disruption of the digital ecosystem and how to protect rights in an era where everyone is becoming a content creator with the pushing out of unlicensed, inappropriate and pirated videos and the need to reinforce the fight against such illicit practices.
Dr. Shuaibu Husseini, decried the posting of censored movies on Telegram platform, the broadcast of unlicensed pirated films in public places especially Ghana and some African countries.
He intimated of the NFVCB readiness to collaborate with the NCC to stem this tide especially in the areas of public enlightenment and use of NFVCB operational staff for antipiracy operations.
Responding to some of the concerns, the DG NCC, welcomed the feedbacks from the movie sector, noting that it would help the Commission to redesign its policies and shape the direction of interventions.
Commenting on the issue of Telegram and Broadcast piracy, he bemoaned the different challenges arising from the irresponsible use of space and the business models being used by producers to put their works in the public space. He harped on the need to find a way to address the issue of Telegram without necessarily escalating to a point where the whole platform is blocked. Similarly on broadcast piracy he said there must be protocols to address some of these developments with the regulatory authorities in the countries concerned.
The NCC, he noted, welcomes the collaborations in the area of public enlightenment to increase copyright education and enforcement operations especially in the fight against online piracy and synergising with right owners. He called for more copyright registrations because of the rancour between script writers, producers which affects movies and those in the movie value chain to help in the rights clearance procedures. He encouraged more support for the Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) especially the Audio- Visual Right Society (AVRS) to ensure they get the recompense from the use of their works in public places.
Amos Abutu
For: Director-General
