The Director, Nigeria Copyright Commission, NCC, Port Harcourt Office, Mr. Collins Osundu Nweke, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to throw its weight behind his Commission in tackling intellectual property fraud.

He made the call on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while on a Courtesy Visit to the Port Harcourt Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE Nwanneka Nwokike. According to him, the EFCC is a strong partner in fighting copyright crimes and enhanced collaboration between the two agencies will greatly boost the work of the NCC.

“.... EFCC happens to be our strong partner when it comes to fighting issues of copyright crimes… we are particularly interested in information and intelligence sharing”, he said. Nweke identified an intricate linkage among organized crime, money laundering and copyright piracy and called for an end to plagiarism.

“Intellectual property is regarded as the new oil. Even if oil is drying up, human intellect will continue to generate creative things that will add more value to the nation’s economy and attract more investment. The whole idea is to give the owners of those works some kind of monopoly right to the work”, he said.

Responding, Nwokike stressed the need for accountable conducts and collaborative engagements as ways the nation can make progress in the fight against corruption. “If we don’t stand and do the right thing, so many things will go wrong and the only way to make progress is by coming together”.

The Commander promised that the EFCC was willing to continue in the existing relationship with the NCC. “ When there is a need for you to collaborate with us, just come, our doors are open; I will gladly do that because the only way we can make progress is when we work together”, he said

Media & Publicity
November 10, 2024