The Ekiti State Commissioner for Education, Dr Olabimpe Aderiye, has pledged that her Ministry will fully support efforts of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to combat book piracy in the state.

The Commissioner gave the assurance while playing host to officials of the NCC who paid her a courtesy visit in her Office in Ado-Ekiti

Dr Aderiye expressed her strong support for the NCC’s awareness campaign against piracy of books and other intellectual works, stressing that her Ministry was ready to work with the NCC in achieving their set target of ridding schools in the State of pirated books by raising awareness among educational stakeholders.

Dr Aderiye who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr Mike Omolayo condemned the activities of violators of the copyright law, enjoining the NCC office to sensitize the public with a view to eradicating the infringement of copyright law in the State.

She said the Ministry will henceforth collaborate with the NCC office in the course of her Ministry’s periodic book review in order to prevent approval of books from unauthorized authors.

Earlier in her remarks, the Ekiti State Coordinator of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Mrs Oluropo Oke sought the strategic collaboration of the Ministry in curbing the circulation of pirated books in schools in the State

• RAAMP COMPLETES DATA CLEANING EXERCISE AS EKITI TARGETS CONSTRUCTION OF ADDITIONAL 500KM RURAL ROADS
• OYEBANJI MOURNS SEGUN AWOLOWO’S DEATH
• Oyebanji Charges Students to Be Agents of Change
• EKITI REMAINS SAFE, SET TO SCALE UP SECURITY, OYEBANJI ASSURES RESIDENTS
• GOVT’S STRATEGIC AGRICULTURAL INTERVENTIONS YIELDING VISIBLE, MEASURABLE, AND LIFE-CHANGING RESULTS IN EKITI – AGRIC COMMISSIONER.

She stated that Section 44(2) of the Nigerian Copyright Act makes it an offence punishable by imprisonment and fine for any person to sell, distribute for the purpose of trade or business or be in possession, other than for private or domestic use, any infringing copy of a copyright work

Oke stressed the need for educational institutions to ensure that books supplied to students and pupils are legitimate copies sourced directly from publishers or authorized distributors.

She emphasized that School owners and administrators have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that the instructional materials used in their schools are original and legally obtained, adding that patronizing pirated materials not only violates the law but also sabotages the creative industry.