Copyright inspectors and police have arrested three people suspected for piracy and impounded pirates books, including 250 copies of the Holy Bible, in a raid on Suleja Market, Niger state.
The bibles and pirated textbooks seized amount to an estimated N1.5 million.
Nigerian Copyright Commission announced the seizure on Friday.
“The confiscated works included primary and secondary school texts, copies of Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and different versions of the Holy Bible,” said Vincent Oyefeso, the commission’s director of public affairs.
The seizures were made in an anti-piracy operation at One Way Road, Suleja Market in Suleja in the wake of a surveillance operation.
“The suspects; Kelechi Ugwuiro, Romanus Ojimba and Ebuka Chinedu were arrested for distributing and offering for sale suspected pirated literary works, contrary to provisions of the Nigerian Copyright Act,” said Oyefeso.
Investigations are on to arrest and prosecute the main suppliers in the piracy chain.
He expressed the agency’s commitment to discharging its enforcement mandates, “especially at this time, when the book season is around the corner”.
The director called on members of the public to assist the commission by volunteering information on suspected piracy outlets and suspicious warehouses of books, through any of its state offices or on the Commission’s website www.copyright.gov.ng.
“The commission’s main operational contacts are: anti-piracy hotline: 09019003200; email: [email protected],” Oyefeso said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
