The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) on Thursday urged stakeholders in the entertainment industry to join the commission to fight piracy.

The Director-General of the commission, Mr Afam Ezekude, who was represented by the Lagos Zonal Manager, Mr Chris Nkwocha, made the plea at a news conference in Lagos.

Ezekude said the problem of piracy was getting worse by the day and the fight against it could not be fought alone without the support of stakeholders in the industry.

“Stakeholders have been supportive but need to put in more efforts to support the struggle.

“Piracy challenges have become a burden to practitioners in the industry.

“The commission will not tolerate piracy in the country; we will not relent in our efforts to tackle the piracy scourge in the country, “ Ezekude said.

He said that the commission, with the assistance of the Nigeria Police and the Nigerian Publishers Association, made seizures of pirated goods worth N3.5million between October and November 2014.

“The Nigeria Police and the publishers association have been supportive in fighting piracy in the country.

“The commission cannot do it alone, it requires the support of stakeholders and Nigerians,“ he said.

According to him, security agencies usually go out with officials of the commission to give them the necessary backing.

The director-general said since the commission was established about 18 years ago, there had been public enlightenment programmes to educate the right owners of works. (NAN)