Nigeria has stepped up its fight against online piracy with a partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to fashion out strategies and tools to combat the menace.
Nigeria is one of four African countries selected for the WIPO flagship project, which seeks to develop anti-piracy tools, strengthen enforcement capabilities and boost public awareness of digital rights.
The initiative is backed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC).
Speaking at the kick-off of the strategic meeting in Abuja, the Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Dr John Asein, emphasised the urgency of deploying legal and technical frameworks to combat piracy in the African digital landscape.
He called the project a “strategic intervention” to close legal and technical gaps threatening the country’s creative economy.
“This initiative marks a turning point in repositioning Nigeria’s copyright ecosystem for the digital age,” he said, adding that disrupting online piracy is no longer optional but essential to protect the future of Nigerian creators.
Providing insights on the prevalence of online piracy, Asein said: “No industry is immune. The most affected sectors include television, 43.6 per cent, publishing, 27.5 per cent, film 12.9 per cent, music, seven per cent and software 6.2 per cent.
“Far beyond statistics, the victims are no longer only foreign rights owners; many Nigerians in these sectors have also been bruised and their creative enterprise ruined.”
He said online piracy threatens the livelihoods of individual creators and businesses and is often linked to other forms of financial crimes, Internet fraud, national security threats and other serious criminal activities.
Director of WIPO Nigeria Office, Dr Oluwatobiloba Moody, said WIPO was committed to the protection of intellectual property as a pillar of innovation and economic growth.
He noted that Africa’s creative economy cannot thrive without robust digital copyright protections.
“This project reinforces our collaboration with Nigeria and reflects a shared commitment to ensuring African creators can thrive in the global digital economy,” Moody said.
Experts, including WIPO’s Dr Tobias Bednarz, the National project consultant for the anti-online piracy project, Michael Akpan and enforcement specialist, Dr Ioannis Kikkis, provided technical insights into the scope and strategy of the campaign.
The Association of Movie Producers (AMP) President, Dr Queen Blessing Ebigieson, commended the move as a turning point for film producers in the country.
“Our industry has suffered greatly from piracy. This initiative offers the best opportunity and provides industry-wide capacity building,” she said.
She described the programme as a timely intervention as digital piracy continues to undermine local creators and producers.
With broad support from producers, law enforcement, telecom firms and intellectual property professionals, the initiative marked a significant milestone in Nigeria’s fight against digital content theft and a boost to the long-term sustainability of Nollywood.
