Piracy: NCC Seizes N36.1 Broadcast Items, Apprehends 2 in Nigeria

[Len]

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), said it had seized broadcast contrivance worth N36.1 million in Delta.

Mr Augustine Amodu, the NCC Director of Enforcement, made the disclosure in Warri, while speaking with newsmen.

Amodu said that two suspects were also apprehended by the enforcement team and were currently detained at the facilities of the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Warri.

He said the operation was carried out between March 13 and March 16, in Ughelli and Warri.

The director of enforcement said the items seized included: several decoders, splitters, senders, boosters, adding that about two trucks load of wires were also destroyed in the operation.

Amodu said that there was need to sustain the anti-piracy operations, particularly on broadcast items in the Niger Delta region because the perpetrators quickly come back to resuscitate them as soon as the enforcement team left.

”Under the leadership of the DG, Mr Ezekude, the enforcement of the Copyright Law has come to its height, today NCC has recorded 58 convictions and over 150 cases in the Federal High Courts,” he said.

The director of enforcement warned perpetrators who indulged in the illegalities to desist from it and sought for a better means of livelihood before the law catches up with them.

Amodu who said that piracy was a cankerworm that had eaten deeply into the fabric of the society, noted that it was a setback on the diversification policy of the Federal Government because it discourages legitimate creativity.

He advised the public not to patronise the perpetrators who he said do not pay tax to the government, “if you do, it will be unfortunate that you will begin to have problem with us”.