In a renewed clampdown on pirates in the Southwest region of Nigeria, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Ibadan Office has raided suspected piracy hotspots in Ibadan, Oyo State, and arrested two suspected pirates.
The suspects were arrested on 31st March 2022 in their outlets where they specialised in the duplication of copyright protected works.
Contrivances confiscated from one of the arrested suspects at the Toll Gate, Ibadan Expressway include: a 10 loader CD duplicating Machine and other gadgets, 265 original musical works from different artists and over a thousand duplicated Compact Disc (CD) plates. The suspect who has been in the business for over 30 years specialised in buying original CDs by reproducing and selling them in contravention of the Copyright Act.
Similarly, another suspect specialised in the sale of illegally reproduced Compact Discs (CDs) and Digital Video Discs (VCDs) was apprehended at the Sango area of Ibadan. The two suspects were arrested during an anti-piracy operation following an intelligence report.
Speaking during a post raid interview, the NCC State Coordinator, Ibadan Office, Mrs. Olabisi Ogundiran, stated that the arrests would serve as a deterrent for others engaging in piracy.
She added that the NCC has been re-energised with a determined to make southwest uncomfortable for those engaging in piracy. “We will chase them and cleanse our streets, so that the rightful owners can benefit from the exploitation of their works, she assured.
The State Coordinator noted: “Piracy was an infringement on the rights of authors, artists and content creators which makes them to languish in penury. This is because they are denied the remuneration due to them because of those who illegally exploit their works.”
She indicated that investigation of arrested suspects was ongoing with a view to their prosecution.
