By Chioma Iruke
250 pirated copies of the Holy Bible in Suleja Market, Niger State has been impounded by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) in a raid in collaboration with armed policemen which saw three suspects arrested.
NCC Director of Public Affairs, Mr Vincent Oyefeso, who announced the figure in a statement on Friday in Abuja, said the Commission also impounded different textbooks
Oyefeso said the seizures estimated at N1.5 million, were made by the Copyright Inspectors during a recent anti-piracy operation at One Way Road, Suleja Market, Niger.
“The suspects; Kelechi Ugwuiro, Romanus Ojimba and Ebuka Chinedu were arrested for distributing and offering for sale suspected pirated literary works, contrary to provisions of the Nigerian Copyright Act.
“The confiscated works included primary and secondary school texts, copies of Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and different versions of the Holy Bible,” the director said.
He noted that the Director of Operations of the Agency, Mr Obi Ezeilo, said the anti-piracy raid led by a Chief Copyright Officer, Mr Chukwuemeka Ngene, was sequel to the surveillance earlier carried out by officers of the commission.
The Commission thus, urged the public to assist them with useful information on the activities of pirates.
