The National Film and Video Censors Board has seized many
copies of Nigerian movies and duplicating machines from pirates in Alaba
market.
The items seized last week were displayed on Monday at a news conference in Lagos.
The NFVCB worked in collaboration with the Movie Producers Association during the operation.
The
raid follows an amendment to the NFVCB bill of 2016 signed into law by
the Acting President in March 2017, which states that the release of
unauthorised works attracts a maximum of three years jail term or a fine
of N500,000.
At the briefing were stakeholders that included
Alhaji Abdulrasaq Abdullahi, Chief Eddie Ugbomah, Saint Obi, Yinka
Ogundaisi, Gab Okoye, Funke Akindele, Emeka Aduah, Fred Amata, Dele
Balogun, Kene Mkparu and Okechukwu Madu
The board’s Executive
Director, Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, said, “The raid is the first in the
series of national enforcement against unclassified, unapproved and
operating an unlicensed film and video distribution and exhibition
business which will be carried out in Nigeria through the National task
force.
“This is a subtle signal to persons distributing
unclassified film and video works, persons distributing film and video
works not registered for distribution in Nigeria, persons operating film
and video distribution business without appropriate licence, persons
distributing film and video works on premises not licensed and all
persons profiting from the sweat of film and video creative directors
without proper right assignment that they should find other business as
the Board under my watch will not rest until we get rid of them from our
industry.”
Among the works pirated are big-budget cinema flicks
such as the ‘Wedding Party’, ‘Jenifa’s Diary’, ‘Wives on Strike’ and A
trip to Jamaica’. Also seized are multiple DVD copiers, writable DVDs
and generators. According to the board’s management, some of the
perpetrators were also arrested.