By Omodele Adigun
Several persons have been arrested while multiple bookshops were sealed over alleged piracy of books during a raid on bookshops in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The arrest was carried out on Saturday by personnel of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) led by its Oyo State coordinator, Oluropo Oke, with support from operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Bookshops sealed during the raid include Genesis, God’s Grace, Idera, Ireti-Olu, Oluseyi and Blessings Bookshops, among others, located in Beere, Oritamerin, Dugbe, Gbagi and Agbeni areas of the city.
Oke stated that the raid was part of the commission’s mandate to curb piracy, especially during the school season when book demand surges.
“We check what sellers display, their sources of supply, and ensure they do not stock pirated works.
“The director-general of NCC, Dr John Asein, has zero tolerance for piracy because it denies authors and publishers their rightful benefits,” she said.
In addition, the state coordinator warned that both sellers and shop owners who obstruct enforcement officers would face prosecution, noting that many of the shops lacked proper purchase records, receipts, or documentation for their stock.
“Some of the receipts we saw only showed the total amount of books purchased without listing titles or authors.
“That’s a sign of shady practices. They must explain their records,” she added.
She said excuses that publishers or authors failed to make books available in the market could not justify the sale of pirated works.
“Piracy kills creativity, hurts the economy and promotes substandard books.
“Whether or not publishers meet demand, booksellers must not turn to pirated copies,” she warned.
She assured that suspects arrested during the operation would be prosecuted in line with the law.
This cleared up a lot of uncertainty — I feel more confident now.