The Nigerian Copyright Commission NCC has advised private schools
Proprietors to desist from patronizing pirated materials as anyone
caught in the act will be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with
the Copyright law.
The Director, NCC Port Harcourt Directorate Office, Mr. Abdul-Salami
Babatunde gave the advice during an inspection tour to some high
profile schools in Port Harcourt metropolis, as part of efforts by the
Commission to stamp out the use and sales of pirated materials both in
private and government schools in the state.
Mr. Babatunde who represented the Director General of the Commission,
Dr. John Asein explained that the responsibility of NCC was to protect
the originality of Intellectual property particularly literary works
thereby calling on proprietors of schools to obtain their books from
authorized publishers.
According to him, piracy is a crime and economic sabotage act as
enshrined in the National Copyright Commission laws stating that the
commission will leave no stone unturned in protecting the rights of
publishers in the country.
Mr. Babatunde who was accompanied on the tour by NCC Officers and
security officials also visited several bookshops and stationery
stores at mile one market, education and mile three markets as
purchase invoices were presented by the shop owners for inspection.
The NCC Port Harcourt Director insisted that the operation is a
continuous exercise while advising stakeholders to join the fight
against piracy.
