Nigeria inaugurates anti-piracy committee
August 1, 2017
By Colin Mann
Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has inaugurated the Anti-Piracy Committee, charged with tackling the piracy of creative works in the country.
The inauguration followed last week’s visit to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, by the Minister to solicit the support of the Police in the fight against piracy.
Members of the committee include the Director General, National Film and Video Censorship Board, Adedayo Thomas; Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria, Chief Tony Okoroji; Deputies Inspector General of Police in Charge of Criminal Investigation Department, Hyacinth Maidugu, and Operations, Joshak Habila; President, Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria, Abdullahi Maikano Usman; Tundun Aderibigbe of the House of Tara; and Tonye Princewell, a movie producer.
According to Mohammed, the time has come for a decisive action against piracy in the country. “This is the first meeting between the police and the major stakeholders in the Ministry of Information and Culture as well as the Creative Industry,” he said, suggesting that this was evidence that this was not just about mere talk, but about action.
The committee has been tasked with devising a pragmatic approach that will ensure a regular and sustained enforcement, with a view to putting an end to the menace of piracy. According to Mohammed, if piracy is not tamed now, it will become a “monster” that will destroy the Creative Industry.