MINNA – The Nigeria Copyrights Commission (NCC) have arrested one Umaru Abdullahi for book piracy in Minna, Niger.
Mr Augustine Amodu, NCC Director of Enforcement, disclosed this on Thursday to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna.
Amodu fielded questions from NAN on the sidelines of an operation by officers that raided the suspect’s bookshop.
He said that the raid was conducted in response to a report from Meybiks Nigeria Publishers about the piracy of its product, titled “Basic Civic Education for Senior Secondary School”.
Amodu said that the report stated that the pirated book was approved for use by Niger State Government in schools.
“It is a law on Section 38 under the Copyrights Act to arrest and prosecute anyone caught selling a pirated work and this is what we have done.
“Piracy has become a cankerworm that is eating deep into the fabric of the Nigeria economic.
“It is unfortunate to know that people go out of their way to pirate other people’s works without license. [eap_ad_1]
“So far we have made 59 arrest and here is another one, so let this serve as warning to those engaging in piracy to desist from it, because there is no hiding place for them,” he warned.
Meanwhile, the author’s representative, who preferred anonymity, told NAN that Federal Government College, Minna, and Federal Girls College, Bida, were some of the schools using the book.
“This two schools usually call the publishing company to supply them the books. But to our surprise, we got information that this same books have been supplied by someone else.
“It was then we filed a report to the anti-copyright commission that someone has pirated the book,” the author said. (NAN) [eap_ad_4]