MultiChoice, the operator of DSTV and GOTV, organised a walk campaign against piracy in Nigeria’s movie industry.
The campaign, which took place on Thursday, saw actors, film producers, regulators, celebrities, and other stakeholders walk from City Mall in Ikeja to Allen Avenue.
The participants carried placards and flyers to raise awareness among the public on the harmful effects of piracy on the creative industry.
The participants were seen in branded T-shirts with an inscription that reads, “Say no to piracy.”
Some of the placards read, “Piracy is theft, protect creativity,” “Piracy hurts the economy and skills industry,” “Stop stealing from creators, respect their work,” and “Over 50% of Nollywood movies are pirated,” among others.
Shahid Balogun, an actor who spoke to TheCable, decried the effect of piracy on the industry, calling for stiffer laws against the menace.
“It is seriously affecting us, “ he said.
“If you don’t pirate, the industry will flourish and will pay my tax for the government to repair the economy.
“The government should pass hard laws on piracy and give the industry a total structure.”
Timi Agbaje, social influencer and lawyer, called on Nigerians to stop patronising pirates.
“Piracy is not a business, it is not a hustle, piracy is the banditry of creativity,” he said.
“You’re stealing from their creativity, income, and sweat. I would like us all to come together as a society to stop piracy.
“Don’t support them, don’t patronise them, before you produce, get a licence.”
Charles Amudipe, deputy director of operations at the Nigerian Copyright Commission, stated that the NCC has been clamping down on pirate websites, saying that it has shut down over 20 movie sites in recent times.
“If you observe critically, the use of piracy has moved from the physical space, especially in the music and film industry, to the internet,” he said.
“And so also, the Nigerian Copyright Commission is moving to those spaces to shut them down. You observe that recently, we have had a new act, that is the Copyright Act 2022.
“That law has broadened the horizon to give the commission more powers to deal with such situations.
“I can tell you, in the last two months, the NCC has shut down over 20 sites that are broadcasting and offering for sale movies created by Nigerians and those other people from the diaspora.”
He called on stakeholders and citizens to continue raising awareness against sites that broadcast movies without a licence from the producers.
See the photos from the walk below.
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