Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) are to commence joint enforcement actions against street hawking of pirated books, CDs, VCDs anf DVs, it was learnt.
The action which will commence in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under inter-agency pact is aimed at boosting copyright protection.
Director-General of NCC, Mr. John O. Asein and the Director-General of AEPB, Dr. Hassan Abubakar, who disclosed this at a consultative meeting in Abuja, reiterated that street sales of copyright materials were illegal and would be checked in line with the relevant copyright and environmental laws.
Speaking during a courtesy visit at the AEPB Headquarters in Abuja, the Director-General of NCC expressed displeasure at the indulgence of persons posing as newspaper vendors but in actual fact engaged in street sale of pirated books. He also called for proactive partnership of NCC and AEBP to rid the streets of widespread peddling of other copyright works such as CDs, CDs and DVDs.
“This unwholesome practice of selling copyright works on the streets is an open show of lawlessness which portrays a negative image of the country. Most of the people engaged in this illegal activity use the sales of newspapers and magazines as a decoy to perpetrate acts of copyright piracy”, he stressed.
The DG, NCC, while looking forward to the sustenance of the renewed drive to remove books from the streets, said the proactive measure would serve as a model for other Nigerian cities in the Commission’s renewed effort to clamp down on piracy at every level and bring the needed relief for copyright owners.
He indicated that in furtherance of the interagency synergy, the Commission would be taking appropriate steps to secure the destruction of the pirated materials already confiscated.
Responding, the Director-General of AEPB, Dr. Hassan Abubakar pointed out that the call for partnership was a renewal of an existing intergovernmental synergy between both Government agencies, considering that the AEPB had been clamping down on the activities of book hawkers and sellers of CDs, VCDs and DVDs on the streets of Abuja.
He noted that such raids by AEPB operatives had resulted in large seizures while the offenders were being prosecuted for environmental nuisance.
Dr. Abubakar assured that the Board would intensify its enforcement activities in line with the renewed collaboration of both agencies to rid the streets of Abuja of the nuisance of hawking pirated copyright works on the streets.
The AEPB DG directed that the Board’s Enforcement operatives should team up with the Commission’s Copyright Inspectors to embark on immediate and sustained inter-agency enforcement interventions against street trading of copyright protected works.
On the delegation of the NCC DG were the Director, Regulatory, Mr. Augustine Amodu; Director, Operations, Mr. Obi Ezeilo; Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Vincent A. Oyefeso and the Special Assistant in the Office of the DG, Mr. Joni Icheka.
The AEPB Management team in attendance were the Director of Administration and Finance, Mr. Jacob Areo; Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr. Olugbenga Adeyemi; Director, Liquid Waste Management, Mr. Ossai Braimoh; Director, Environmental Conservation, Zainab Umar; Director, Solid Waste Management; Mr. Kaka Ali; Assistant Director, Monitoring and Enforcement, Mr. Kaka Bello; and Head Legal, Ms. Cecilia M. Makaji.
