The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and the Nigerian Copyrights Commission, NCC, on Thursday April 18, 2013 signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to curb piracy and protect local intellectual property.
Speaking at the ceremony in Abuja, Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde stated that the ultimate goal of the MoU was to formalise the collaboration between the two agencies and enhance their efforts to curb piracy and intellectual property theft. He stated that it was shameful and disheartening for people to steal and profit from the intellectual work of others. “People take pleasure in stealing the works of others… the thing to do is to stop these pirated goods from coming into the country,” he said.
He implored Nigerians to embrace hardwork and shun piracy and other forms of economic and financial crimes.
Afam Ezekude, the Director-General of the NCC, commended the EFCC Chairman for his effort in the fight against economic and financial crimes and urged him not to relent.
He posited that NCC has a policy of zero tolerance for piracy and believes in fostering corporate partnership with other agencies, both nationally and internationally, in furtherance of this objective. Such relationship with the Nigerian Customs Service, he said, recently helped the agency to intercept six containers of pirated works with a street value of N6billion.
The ceremony was witnessed by top management staff of the EFCC and the NCC.
