Christian books are the most pirated – NCC

Head of the National Copyright Commission in Lagos, Mr. Alero Amodu, has said that the most pirated books in Nigeria are Christian books.

Amodu made this known in Lagos on Monday at a dialogue the commission held with publishers, book marketers and other stakeholders.

Speaking on behalf of the NCC's Director-General, Mr. Afam Ezekude, he noted that pirates particularly exploited the facts that a good number of Christian books sell well; so, they often reproduced them illegally.

He thus called on the stakeholders to join hands with the commission to fight the scourge.

He said, "We all need to join hands to tackle those doing this illegally. It is also important for anyone having problems to bring such to our notice. It is important for you to know your rights as far as copyright enforcement is concerned. That is why we have called you so that you can also experess your feelings and relate your experience."

Last November, about three months after the NCC arrested seven containers carrying pirated books, it seized another  one mostly loaded with Bibles. According to Amodu, the  container was seized after the commission received tips from intelligent reports from stakeholders and some members of the public.

"The content of the container are pirated books which belong to the Bible Society of Nigeria, with some other educational books. They are about 1,200 cartons – worth about N500m," he said.

He added that the NCC considered it a painful experience for anyone to use his brain and sweat to produce for the masses while another reproduces it and sells it without the consent of the owner. As a result, he said, it would continue to do everything within its power to stem the tide of piracy.

Thanking the Customs, Police and other related agencies for assisting the NCC to get the container, Amodu urged the Federal Government to provide it with more fund to enable it to fight pirates.

At the briefing, the Marketing Manager of the Bible Society of Nigeria, Mr. Sholeye Abiodun, commended the commission for the seizure.

Abiodun said, "The pirates are hell-bent on putting us out of business. We've lost millions of naira through piracy. We have lost over N200m, they pirate our products – the Bibles and other related works – and sell at very ridiculous prices."

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Original Page: http://www.punchng.com/feature/literary-punch/christian-books-are-the-most-pirated-ncc/