EFCC, NCC join forces to eradicate piracy in Nigeria

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday pledged its assistance for the Nigerian Copyrights Commission (NCC) in tackling the rising wave of piracy and all forms of infringements on intellectual property rights.
Chairman of the Commission, Ibrahim Lamorde, gave the promise during a courtesy call on him by a delegation of NCC officials led by its Director-General, Mr. Afam Ezekude.
He described all infringements against intellectual property rights as economic crime since they are, most of the time, induced by monetary gains.
Ezekude said, “Those that engage in copyright infringements do not do so for the fun of it, but for monetary gains and this makes it an economic crime.”
He applauded the excellent relationship between the EFCC and the NCC and called for concerted efforts to consolidate and strengthen existing ties.
Lamorde said, “Our relationship with your organisation dates back many years and the two agencies have a common ground for collaboration which needs to be strengthened especially in the area of intelligence sharing.”
He indicated the commission’s willingness to make available to the NCC, any of its facilities, especially the EFCC Academy, which he described as one of the best in the country.
Ezekude said, “We are here to upscale this relationship because the work you do has a direct impact on our work too and there is a need for better synergy.”
He said in the last six months, his organisation “secured 28 convictions and seized about 11 containers of pirated goods worth N4bn.”