The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) on Tuesday destroyed pirated books valued at N141.5 million seized from booksellers and suppliers during various enforcement operations.
The NCC Oyo State Coordinator, Mrs Oluropo Oke, supervised the destruction in Ibadan on behalf of NCC Director‑General, Mr John Asein.
She noted that the pirated books were seized over the past three years from bookshops and markets in Abeokuta, Sango-Otta in Ogun, and the Oyo state capital.
“We valued the books before destroying them and found their total value to be N141,550,000.
“During the operations, we discovered that some booksellers could not prove the source of their purchases.
“There are several features that differentiate original books from pirated copies, including the binding, colour, grammage and point of purchase.
“We need to establish whether the books were bought from the original owners or publishers, or acquired on the streets,” she said.
The director-general warned that the Nigerian Copyright Act empowers the commission to punish any citizen caught pirating or illegally dealing in intellectual property.
She said those in possession of the seized books faced penalties ranging from fines and forfeiture to other punishments under the law, adding that book piracy continued to harm national economic growth and deprived authors and publishers of the benefits of their work.
The NCC explained that the books would not be burnt but shredded to prevent recirculation and protect the environment.
“We are making every effort to prevent pirated books from returning to the market. We are using a shredding machine because it is environmentally friendly. We believe that shredding will ensure the books do not re-enter circulation.
“We understand this is a significant loss to booksellers, but instead of buying from pirates, we encourage them to purchase from the original sources, publishers or their representatives, rather than from the streets,” she said.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA), Mr Rotimi Iyiola, said book piracy had eroded much of publishers’ livelihoods.
“Witnessing the destruction of the seized pirated books by the NCC is a welcome development.
“Economically, book piracy causes enormous damage, not only to authors and publishers but also to workers and their families, and it deprives the government of revenue.
“Our jobs as publishers have been stolen, and our means of livelihood eroded,” Mr Iyiola said.
He lauded the NCC for its commitment and dedication to eradicating book piracy in Nigeria and reiterated that the NPA was ready to cooperate with the commission to ensure that piracy was effectively addressed.