NCC nabs 371 suspected book pirates
As Nigeria joined the rest of the world in celebrating the World book and copyright day yesterday, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) said that it has arrested 371 suspected pirates.
Director General of NCC Barrister Afam Ezekude said this in Abuja while speaking at an event to commemorate the world book day. The UNESCO’s general conference chose April 23 every year to pay tribute to books, the authors who wrote them and the copyright laws that protect them.
Ezekude who was represented by Mr. Jacob Fagbemi, legal adviser of the commission said this year’s celebration was particularly significant for Nigeria as UNESCO has designated Port Harcourt, the Capital City of Rivers state as the Book Capital of the world for the year 2014.
He said in the last three years, the NCC had stepped up the tempo of its anti-piracy operations in which the commission has confiscated a total of 5.8 million assorted pirated copyright works with a street value worth over N7 billion.
He said the commission also secured the seizure of 18 containers of pirated copyright works at various ports, most of which contained books of both local and foreign publishers.