Posted by By SOLA BALOGUN on
Pirated CDs worth over N10 million were seized in Lagos yesterday as copyright inspectors carried out another major raid of outlets suspected to be notorious haven of piracy.
Pirated CDs worth over N10 million were seized in Lagos yesterday as copyright inspectors carried out another major raid of outlets suspected to be notorious haven of piracy.
The exercise, which held for close to half an hour at Ajelogo area of Alapere Ketu also ended with the arrest of three suspects (two men and a woman) believed to be kingpins of piracy around the area.
At about 12.15 p.m, copyright inspectors from the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) teamed up with no less than 40 armed policemen drawn from the Ikeja police command to effect the raid.
The raiders arrived Ketu at about 12.38 p.m and promptly began the raid in the presence of journalists.
About 12 shops were raided in the area but efforts by the copyright inspectors to arrest owners of the shops failed. It was discovered that on sighting the policemen and the journalists on the main road, majority of the pirates took to their heels, leaving their shops and wares behind.
But if the pirates were lucky to escape, their wares were not as copyright inspectors promptly invaded the shops to seize the pirated works. Traffic along the road was disturbed as policemen stopped all vehicles that could hinder the assignment. In fact, some of the locked shops were forced open by the inspectors while exhibits were moved to the buses in large numbers.
After the raid, all the exhibits comprising works of foreign artistes, some popular Nigerian artistes such as Ebenezer Obey, P Square, Yinka Ayefele, Sky Plus among others were moved to the Lagos office of the NCC on Aloha Street.
Explaining the raid, Mr Emeka Ogbonna, Zonal officer, Lagos office of the NCC hinted that majority of the pirates were syndicates of some foreigners who are notorious for replicating intellectual works.
According to Ogbonna, there are many replicating plants being run by foreigners who have refused to register their businesses with the Federal Government and that because they know the NCC is after them, they always resort to supplying traders with pirated works. Ogbonna added that NCC will continue to fight piracy at all cost so that owners of intellectual works would reap from their sweat.