On Tuesday, September 18, 2012, the Nigerian
Copyright Commission (NCC) carried out a raid at the premises of the Musical
Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN), the commission announced in a
press statement.
The raid, according to the NCC was carried out
following information that the MCSN was ‘performing the duties of a collecting
society without the approval of the NCC. The commission says it had conducted a
preliminary investigation on the activities of the MCSN to determine whether
they were carrying out the functions of a collecting society.
‘The preliminary investigation showed
that they were illegally granting licence for usage of musical film works as
well as collecting royalties from people they granted licence to use these
works and purportedly were distributing royalties to those they chose’, Nseabasi
Ukagwu from the the Public Affairs Department of the NCC said in a
statement.
The statement says five senior officers Halim
Mohammed, Banjo Omolara Biliqis, Yusuf Adoji, Olakayode Ajayi and Njoku
Gladys were arrested in the said raid. The NCC says the General
Manager, Licensing, of MCSN, Louis Udoh escaped from lawful
custody while the C.E.O Mayo Ayilaran is still at large.
The NCC says she investigation is on-going and suspects
will be arraigned at the Federal High Court.
The Director of Enforcement of the NCC, Augustine Amodu
however disclosed that the MCSN had in the past applied to the NCC for approval
to operate as a collecting society but after due process was not granted.
According to Amodu, the only collecting society
approved for music and sound recording by the NCC is the Copyright
Society of Nigeria (COSON).