Operatives of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) have arrested a broadcast pirate, Mr Ajaye West William, over illicit redistribution of broadcast signals belonging to various right owners in violation of the Copyright Act.
In an operation executed from September 16 to 17, 2022, the suspect, who had evaded arrest, was traced and apprehended at his base in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while carrying out the unauthorised redistribution of the signals.
The Director of NCC in Port Harcourt, Collins Nweke, said the operation which was carried out in collaboration with other enforcement agencies followed months of surveillance.
He disclosed that the contrivances seized included DSTV, GOTV, Strong and FTA decoders, as well as other materials used for the illicit distribution of signals to “subscribers” who made payments to the suspect.
Nweke said, “The suspect is believed to have a customer base of over 3,000 subscribers on his illegal broadcast network, and the commission is processing the information to get to the root of the crime.”
Mr Williams’ arrest came on the heels of a recent warning by the Director General (DG) of NCC, Dr John O. Asein, on Channels Television condemning all forms of signal piracy.
Dr Asin had said, “Henceforth anyone found to be engaged in redistributing broadcast signals and all persons who connive with them in the illicit act would be arrested and prosecuted, while any contrivances found to be used for such crime would be confiscated.”
