…As NCC seizes 28 containers of pirated works –Official***

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said its command in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara zone had intercepted 506 bags of foreign rice concealed in bags of beans smuggled into the country.

The command’s Controller, Mr Nasir Ahmad, made this known to newsmen on Wednesday in Sokoto, and said that the seized consignment had payable duty value of N12.5 million.

Ahmad said that the items were intercepted on Friday by officers of the command on patrol along Sokoto-Illela road.

He said that the command had competent intelligent officers, investigating specialised activities.

The controller explained that smugglers deployed different tactics in perpetrating their illegal businesses and reassured the public of the command’s readiness to confront smuggling and enforce government regulations.

He called on people residing in border communities to assist Customs authorities with useful information to combat smuggling of goods into the country.

“The present case is different as smugglers packaged two bags of rice in bigger beans bag disguising that they were conveying beans in the truck,” Ahmad said.

According to him, smugglers are using various structures, including residential buildings, to store smuggled items in peace-meal before uploading to a truck.

Ahmad said smuggling was crippling the nation’s economy as it deprived it of revenue, crippled industrial growth, endangered population and employment.

He commended Comptroller-General and officers of the Service for supporting anti-smuggling and revenue generation drive of the present administration.

In the meantime, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), says 28 shipping containers comprising pirated books and audio-visual works were confiscated from 2011 to the first quarter of 2017.

Mr. Afam Ezekude, the Director General of the NCC, said this during the signing of signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NCC and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on collaborative anti-piracy operations at the nation’s ports and borders, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Mr Hameed Ali, Comptroller General of NCS signed on behalf of the service.

Ezekude who lauded the NSC’s role in the seizure, said that the NCS remained its crucial ally in the commission’s anti-piracy drive.

“This MoU is a step in the right direction as it has formally set in motion synergised efforts between us in our fight against piracy.

“Movements of pirated works at border points through the air, sea and land, will henceforth be checked effectively.

“This development has further reiterated our zero-tolerance stand against any means through which pirated works enter the Nigeria market,” he said.

In his remark, the CG of NCS, Hameed Ali, said that since the organisations were involved in enforcement of government policies, there was need for them to work closely for effective delivery on their mandates.

He therefore urged NCC to provide relevant expertise training on copyrights to officers of the NCS for them to be more effective in their hunt for pirated creative work at ports and borders.

“We have realized that we need each other to work more effectively, and this MoU will help in achieving that goal.

“However, there is need for relevant training for our officers so that they can identify pirated products from the original ones at the ports”, he said.

The MoU which is for three years is subject to renewal thereafter.

According to the chief executives, the MoU is to formalise and strengthen the inter-agency collaboration between the two organisations, and to explore further ways to collectively curb importation of pirated works into the country.