The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has seized three shipping containers of 3000 cartons of pirated books with a conservative market value of over N300 million.
The director-general (DG) of the commission, Dr John Asein, disclosed this in a press statement made available to journalists on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr Asein said the containers were intercepted at Onne Port , Rivers, in collaboration with NCC enforcement partners – the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the State Security Service (SSS).
The DG disclosed that the copyright of the pirated books belong to frontline Nigerian publishers: Africana First, Bounty Press, Evans, Learn Africa, Macmillan, Metropolitan and University Press Plc.
“Our main headache used to be with locally printed books which are easy to identify due to their poor production quality.
“But, we have since seen a surge in the importation of pirated books, especially from Asia with quality, competing with their originals.
“Many of these pirates who are agents of foreign printers now have the audacity to come into Nigeria to scout for businesses.
“Sometimes they share lists of their pirated stock with prospective customers in Nigeria through rogue networks.
“In some cases, the imports are compromised, and the documentation is doctored to deceive enforcement agencies,” he said.
The DG said many pirates were taking undue advantage of the zero duty on books, while unscrupulous importers make false declarations either to evade duty or as cover for smuggling.
He said, without undermining the government’s policy on ease of doing business, the commission is working with Customs to introduce the online pre-import certification scheme to check illicit imports of books and other copyright materials.
Mr Asein alerted importers, clearing agents, booksellers and warehouse owners to carry out due diligence when transacting book business and to always ensure proper documentation.
He said the commission would hold anyone found with copies of pirated books accountable and presumed to be complicit in the crime of piracy either as primary or secondary suspects.
The DG said, with the support of partnering agencies and the cooperation of right owners, NCC will, more than ever before, step up enforcement drive to decimate copyright piracy.