THE Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has seized more than 3,000 cartons of pirated books, worth over N1b.
Revealing details of the seizure to reporters in Lagos, yesterday, the Deputy Director, Lagos Office of the NCC, Nigerian Copyright Commission, Mr. Chris Nkwocha, said the books, imported from China, were packed in three containers.
He said that the books included about 30 titles from over 10 publishers in Nigeria and overseas, adding that three suspects were arrested and their levels of involvement is being investigated before appropriate sanction is taken.
Nkwocha revealed that prior to the new seizure, the commission had intercepted eight containers consisting about 15,000 cartons of pirated books. He said all the seizures, from July till date, were imported from China
"The pirated books belong to various publishers, like Learn Africa, formerly Longman; Macmillan; University Press; Africana First and Heinemann, to mention a few.
Nkwocha said NCC, in furtherance of its policy of zero tolerance to piracy, would not give room for pirates to thrive in the copyright terrain.
He noted that the body remains indebted to sister agencies, like the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Police and others, including the media and the Nigerian Publishers Associations (NPA) for support.
The Sales Manager, Macmillan, Mr. Akin Taiwo, who was at the press briefing, commended the Nigerian Copyright Commission for a good job. He lamented that pirates are out to ground activities of genuine publishers, and sell at a cheaper rate because they do not pay tax or royalties to authors.
Taiwo, however, called for a harsher penalty to discourage people from venturing into piracy. He noted that the present penalty for piracy is not deterrent enough.
