The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has arrested 400 people in connection with piracy and theft of intellectual property across Nigeria.
Director of Public Affairs of the NCC, Ademusi Yemi, on Monday, April 27, 2015, newsmen that over 400 arrests have been made in connection with the piracy of intellectual property and that the commission is ready to make more arrests.
He said the commission was committed to and would go the extra mile in preserving the rights of intellectual property owners.
He said “We have made over 400 arrests of suspected pirates, we have recorded over 66 convictions and have over 187 cases pending in court. We take our jobs very seriously,”
Speaking on the accusations by a film maker that the commission knew who was behind piracy and has refused to arrest them, he said; “It is not true; it is very wrong to say the NCC knows the pirates and refuses to apprehend them. We are mandated to deal with piracy and regulate the copyright industry; we take our jobs very seriously.
“The NCC makes regular enforcement raids in all the areas where piracy is endemic. If you go to our website you will find information detailing all the recent raids that were carried out this year and in the past years. The thing is that we are constantly adhering to enforcement raids. Where a case is reported to us, we investigate it and we do street raid to address it.”
