Arresting of Nollywood movie pirates *It’s a new dawn, says Censors Board boss

THE taskforce set up recently by the Executive Director, National Films and Video Censors Board,NFVCB, Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, to checkmate the upsurge of unlicenced and unclassified movies in the country, Monday, recorded a major breakthrough, after the members carried out a raid at the popular Alaba International Market, Lagos and arrested three suspected movie pirates. The raid, led by respected marketer and member of the taskforce, Mr. Gabriel Okoye, popularly known as Igwe Gabosky, took place at about 1.30am on Monday, leading to the confiscation of films and replicating machines estimated to be worth over N50million. The suspects were later moved to Area E Police Station, Festac Town, Lagos, where they were interrogated. While speaking with newsmen, the suspects including Ndu Celestine, Okechukwu Ikuagwu both from Abia State, and Austine Ugokwe said they were newly introduced into the illegal business to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, narrating how they arrested the suspects, the Censors Board boss, Adedayo, said the task force got a tip off from an Abuja-based film distributor and they immediately swung into action and arrested the suspects. He said the suspects would be moved to Abuja to face prosecution, adding that the raid would be a regular exercise until piracy is eradicated in the country.

Speaking in the same vein, the leader of the task force, Gabosky lamented the ugly activities of the pirates and urged Nigerians to support the fight against copyright infringement in the country.

“We must say no to piracy and stop them from feeding fat from our sweat. I am committed to this fight because I wear the shoes. The money I borrowed from the Bank of Industry was rubbished by activities of these pirates,” he lamented.

Some of the movies that were seized include titles such as ‘Ayamma’, ‘Wedding Party’, ‘Three Wise Men’, ’30 Days in Atlanta’, ‘A Trip to Jamaica’, ‘Lekki Wives’, ‘Wives on Strike’, ‘Jennifer’s Diary’, and ‘Fifty.’

On his own, the Director/Zonal Manager of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, NCC, Obi Ezeilo, who was part of the team said, as government agencies, they are working closely to rid the Nigerian environment of the menace of piracy.