A’Ibom: NCC cautions on illegal production, sales of books

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has cautioned school authorities in Akwa Ibom to desist from illegal production and sales of books.

Mrs Cornelia Ibanga, the Akwa Ibom Coordinator, gave the warning during an inspection tour of school bookshops in Uyo metropolis on Tuesday.

Ibanga said that some schools in the state had cultivated the habit of reducing standards by patronising pirates instead of credible publishers.

The coordinator said that the commission would henceforth deal decisively with any school found culpable of distributing pirated books.

“School owners should be fully vigilant, they should be cautions in order to avoid being complicit in book piracy.

“We advise schools to directly patronise publishers or reach out to them through their representatives and reputable book stores,” he said.

Ibanga further said that the commission had held series of meetings with school managements on the need to obey the anti copyright laws.

She said that the commission would continue to monitor and enforce compliance with the law in order to ensure sanity.

In his response, the Principal, Bright Star Academy, Uyo, Mr Jethro Fadero, described the sale of books to students as a distraction that schools should avoid.

Fadero urged schools to focus more on teaching instead of selling books, adding: “let us give book lists to parents to source from book stores instead of selling to them.