The Nigerian government on Friday said it has intensified its anti-piracy campaign across the country.

Afam Ezekude, the Director General of Nigerian Copyright Commission, said it was also training stakeholders and creating awareness in secondary schools.

Ezekude told reporters that the commission, besides its enforcement and prosecution drives, has designed a comprehensive anti-piracy public awareness program.

He said the program included training students on the importance of copyright and the need for copyright to be protected as they would soon become writers, innovators and copyright owners.

Ezekude said the commission was holding training for newsmen on reporting anti-piracy campaigns and was also holding consultations with traditional rulers.

"We have had meetings with traditional rulers to send anti-piracy message down to their subjects in the grassroots and inform them of the damage piracy does to the economy of this country," he said.

The NCC boss said the commission's officers were involved in anti- piracy surveillance in major markets and streets across Nigeria to effectively check the activities of pirates.

This step, according to him, has helped the commission to identify some pirated books, DVDs, CDs and other items.

He urged copyright owners to register their works with the commission for easy comparison and identification of pirated items from the original ones.

Source: XINHUA