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The Nigerian Copyright Commission, on Thursday, took its enforcement against piracy to some schools in Ogun State, confiscating some identified pirated textbooks while one suspect was arrested.
The schools visited were both Senior and Junior arms of Remo Secondary School, Sagamu, Lifegate Group of Schools, off Aiyepe Road, Sagamu and Focus International School, Agura, Sagamu.
The enforcement team accompanied by officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, was led by State Coordinator Ibadan office of NCC, Mrs Oluropo Oke.
The raid was sequel to intelligence that the schools were involved in selling pirated books to the students which is against the Copyright Act of 2022.
She said the current leadership of NCC has said that no efforts should be spared to combat piracy.
Oke said, “Today’s exercise is to demonstrate another strong commitment of NCC to fight piracy to a standstill in the country. Today, we have taken the war and enforcement against piracy to schools that are selling pirated books to their students.
“We are not just coming out today; we have done our surveillance and investigation, so we have our intelligence reports that these schools are involved in this terrible act that is making original owners of these textbooks not to reap where they have sowed.
‘’We all must join hands together to fight this theft of intellectual properties of the people. So for the schools visited, we made some seizure we have equally left behind letters of invitation to our office at Ibadan, Oyo State.”
Oke said that the NCC has always engaged stakeholders in the education sector while using the media to sensitise the people to the danger of buying pirated books.
The NCC State Coordinator said those claiming ignorance about the pirated books found in their custody were only being economical with the truth.
Oke said, that in order not to run foul of the Copyright laws, the schools and booksellers must patronise the publishers of these books while also keeping receipts of such business transactions as evidence during enforcement raids.
She urged the Ogun State government to brace up for the campaign against the use of pirated books across the state saying the information at the agency’s disposal pointed to the fact that a lot of schools in the state engaged in piracy activities.
Oke said, “I must once again use this medium to appeal to the general populace to desist from buying pirated books or encouraging piracy in whatever capacity. Piracy is evil; it is killing our economy; it encourages the production of substandard goods and it attracts a five-year jail term once a case is established against you.
“Additionally, you will also be liable to paying N10,000 for each pirated copy found with you while the premises being used for this illegal act will be sealed off; the penalties are as tough as I have enumerated.”
The suspect arrested who simply identified himself as Akinyemi said that he was never aware that the books were pirated copies.
Akinyemi said, “I don’t know that these books are pirated copies; the suppliers always send them to me from Lagos State while I supply the school. If I am aware I wouldn’t be caught doing that; I was just innocently doing my business.”
It would be recalled that the Commission had in September raided some bookshops in Abeokuta and Ota arresting eight booksellers and impounding hundreds of pirated books.
