By Collins Yakubu-Hammer
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has called for more collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to checkmate piracy of creative materials.
Director-General of the commission, Dr John Asein made the call at the opening of NCS Management Retreat, Sensitisation Workshop and Public Enlightenment on the newly enacted Nigeria Customs Service Act.
In a statement on Tuesday in Abuja by the commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr Augustine Amodu, the D-G said that the new Act replaced the 64-year-old Customs and Excise Management Act.
He said that the new law would support the Copyright Act, 2022 enacted by the Federal Government to modernise the creative sector.
Asein said both statutes would further enhance collaboration between the two organisations to reduce the tide of piracy across the borders.
“If not for the NCS, the creative sector, particularly the book sector, would have been terribly battered.
“I am happy that the NCS Act, 2023 in section 168 expressly grants the Service powers to detain, arrest or seize any importation or exportation that infringes or contravenes the Copyright Act.
“I therefore call on the two agencies to work together under the new dispensation, in the spirit of the existing Memorandum of Understanding between them.
“This is to ensure that everything needed is in place including the electronic filing system that will aid joint operations to check illicit imports,” the D-G said.
He thanked the NCS for the opportunity to interact with its top management staff, adding that he looked forward to a rejuvenated Customs Service and better working relationship with the commission.
This, he added, would not only checkmate piracy, but also ensure more revenue for the creative sector.
In his remarks, the Acting Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, thanked former President Muhammadu Buhari for assenting to the Customs Act, and President Bola Tinubu for keeping faith with the implementation of key provisions of the Act.
He also thanked members of the 9th National Assembly for the expeditious consideration and passage of the Bill and his predecessor, Retired Col. Hameed Ali for driving the the process.
Adeniyi said that the old Act had been in operation for over six decades without any significant amendment, notwithstanding the expansion in government and population, as well as the dynamic progress and challenges in the conduct of international trade.
He assured all stakeholders that the NCS would remain focused under the three pillars of consolidation, collaboration and innovation, in the discharge of its responsibilities.
“We are going to engage in very constructive consultations with members of the organised private sector and all the stakeholders to ensure that we reap maximum benefit from this Act,” the Ag. Comptroller-General said.
He emphasised the commitment of the NCS to the development of the creative industry in support of the mandate of the copyright commission to curb piracy of creative materials.
Adeniyi pledged to consolidate on the achievements made by both agencies in their collaboration, for the country to reap maximum benefits from the creative industry. (NAN)