TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed law enforcement agencies to step up their efforts to curb the menace of piracy in Nigeria’s entertainment industry.

Buhari, who was speaking on Tuesday after receiving a briefing from Folasade Yemi-Esan, permanent secretary of the ministry of information, said pirates were preventing artistes from enjoying the fruits of their labour.

“Nollywood is making progress. We should work with them. Unless they are backed, they will be ruined by pirates who want to reap where they have not sowed,” Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, quoted Buhari as saying.

“They have built an industry with their own sweat. It is therefore incumbent on us to give them the necessary support.”

He charged law enforcement agencies to identify the perpetrators of copyright piracy, their sponsors and collaborators, and bring them to justice.

Buhari also charged the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) to tap into the opportunities presented by their wide reach to shore up their revenue profiles.