The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has arrested three bookshop owners in Rivers state over alleged book piracy.
Abdul Babatunde, head of the Port Harcourt directorate, disclosed this on Tuesday after an anti-piracy raid within the state capital.
Babatunde said that the commission confiscated pirated books worth N3 million during the operation.
He said the suspects are currently undergoing investigation, and would be prosecuted after their involvement in the act has been established.
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Babatunde said it is part of the commission’s mandate to protect and promote the rights of authors and other investors in the copyright ecosystem.
“The commission is committed to seeing that the activities of pirates in Rivers and Bayelsa are reduced to the barest minimum,” he said.
He warned booksellers, printers and importers against stealing other people’s intellectual property, adding that it is a criminal offense to buy pirated books.
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“Patronising pirates is a contravention of Section 44 of the Copyright Act, 2022. Patronizing piracy is to kill creativity and the economy,” he said.
“Let us buy our books from publishers and authorized dealers, and not from middlemen, printers and roadside dealers.”
Chinyere Ezediora, one of the arrested suspects, asked the commission to sensitise the public on the dangers of book piracy.
“I heard about book piracy for the first time when the commission came for arrest in our shop,” she said.
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“I urge the commission to sensitise the public more about the issue. The public needs to be more informed about the law.”
Babatunde also called on members of the public to support the commission with credible information to tackle piracy in the state.
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