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From: Moshood Adebayo
Efforts of the Lagos State Government to discourage piracy appear to be yielding results as the Film and Video Censors Board in the last one year had destroyed N10 million pirated and unclassified local and international movies.
It also destroyed duplicating machines worth N10 million.
Acting Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Adebimpe Akinsola, made the disclosure, on Tuesday, in Alausa, Ikeja, as part of activities marking the second-year anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration
She said the enforcement was carried out in some parts of the state including Ikorodu and Ijora, with 12 suspects/offenders at different times.
According to her, at different times in the course of the period, they were arraigned before the Magistrate Court, Agege for their offences with all of them pleading guilty after the counts were pronounced.
“Eight of the suspects were prosecuted and sentenced to six months imprisonment without an option of fine, while six of the suspects were given the option of N10, 000 on each count”.
She assured that the state government would not fold its arms and allow pirates and copyright violators to eat fat on other peoples works.
“We as a government will not allow anyone or group to pirate other peoples’ s artistic works and present it as their own ideas and allow it to go scot free. We shall punish them through legal means.”
