Police, NCC to intensify inter-agency intervention against piracy

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) have renewed their existing interagency partnership for intensified antipiracy interventions across the country.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Operations (DIG Ops), Baba Tijani and the Director-General of NCC, Mr. John O. Asein disclosed this during a consultative meeting at the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Headquarters in Abuja recently.

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DIG Tijani, who received the NCC DG on a working visit, reaffirmed the commitment of the NPF to institutional and operational support for the Commission in implementation of its national antipiracy campaign across the country.

The Police DIG gave assurance that the Force would continue to back the NCC in its regulatory and enforcement interventions for the protection and promotion of the creative industry in Nigeria.

The Director-General solicited the cooperation of the police in the execution of the Commission’s primary mandate of curbing copyright piracy nationwide.

Piracy

Expressing concern on the rising incidence of piracy in the country, Mr. Asein commended the police for the support that the Commission has enjoyed and called for enhanced synergy between both agencies to effectively check the piracy menace.

The Director-General noted that the strategic partnership existing between the police and the commission which, dated back to over thirty years of fighting copyright theft has yielded fruitful results.

In his further remarks, the DIG Tijani stated that he was conversant with the operations and activities of the NCC in its bid to curb copyright piracy in Nigeria. He noted that both organisations shared the mandate of curbing crime and promoting the right ideals in society.

Intellectual property theft

The DIG observed that high rate of intellectual property theft has a negative impact on the creative sector and Nigeria’s economy, describing the activities of pirates in local parlance as ‘monkey de work, baboon de chop’, alluding to the fact that pirates were in the criminal business of reaping from others’ creations through illicit and unauthorised exploitation.

He indicated that curbing piracy should go beyond investigation and arrest and charged the Commission to “build an internal security architecture to detect piracy” and embark on intensive investigation and prosecution of copyright cases.

DIG Tijani reiterated the continued support of the police for the NCC in fighting piracy to a standstill in the country. He stressed that the police would always cooperate with relevant stakeholders to promote national harmony and cohesion.

In attendance were the representative of the Inspector General of Police on the Governing Board of NCC, Assistant Inspector General of Police, J. D. Abang; Director of Operations, NCC, Mr. Obi Ezeilo and NCC Director of Legal Services, Mr. Emeka Ogbonna.