NFVCB, Nigeria Police, others strategise to fight film, music piracy

[Len]

IN a bid to ensure a complete protection of the creative works in Nigeria, the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and other stakeholders in the creative industry have strategised to combat the piracy of intellectual property in the country.

To this end, they are working together to create a units in the force to address the virus that is rocking the creative sector. The Executive Director of the NFVCB, Alh. Adedayo Thomas, who disclosed this while addressing a press conference to mark his 90 days in office, yesterday, in Abuja, said over 237 films and videos had been censored and classified since he assumed the office.

“The Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed led a delegation to the Inspector General of Police, IGP, and our challenges were presented. Already, we have started working on how a unit is going to be provided to address piracy, uncensored and unclassified works that is the last step we have taken. 

“This is part of the reasons, why the National Task Force was inaugurated by the Board. We are working with the security force to make thing better for the players in the industry. Very soon you will see that the markets are rid of the pirate, unclassified and uncensored works,” he said. 

He said the board in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders were concerned and working assiduously to ensure that Nigerian movies and music promote moral and cultural values in the country. 

NFVCB Boss maintained that all bottlenecks impeding the process of censorship and classification of movies had been removed, adding that within one week, the process is completed; unlike before that it could take close to a month. 

While enumerating challenges faced by the board, Adedayo called on the National Assembly to assist the board in the area of budgetary allocation to address problem of funding confronting it. 

He said NFVCB is one of the largest employers of labour and the second largest contributor to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), therefore, if well funded; it could bring the country out of recession.