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The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), has said that the country loses billions of naira annually to piracy, a loss many underestimate despite its far-reaching impact on the creative sector.
The commission disclosed the development through Lynda Alphaeus, its director, during an anti-piracy sensitisation programme for teenagers by MultiChoice Nigeria at Kuramo Senior College, Victoria Island, Lagos, on October 29, 2025.
“It not only affects the monetary value that would have gone to the creators; it also affects the economy generally because those who would have been employed by those creators are not being employed in the fashion industry, arts, or different types of categories,” she said.
Alphaeus stressed that the effects cascade beyond creators. When creative revenues collapse due to piracy, jobs are lost before they are even created. She added that engaging teenagers is strategic, noting that “when children have a change of mindset, a part of the war is already won.”
Also speaking at the event, Caroline Oghuma, executive head, Corporate Affairs, at MultiChoice Nigeria, reaffirmed this position, stating that the company remains committed to public education on piracy.
“Piracy is not a victimless act; and the fight against piracy must begin in classrooms. The future of Nollywood, Nigerian music and other forms of creative expression lies in the hands of these young people. If they learn to respect creativity now, they’ll help secure the future of our creative economy,” she said.
In recent years, a UNESCO report estimated that between 50 and 70 percent of revenue in Nigeria’s film market is lost to piracy, a staggering figure in one of the country’s fastest-growing industries. It is this reality that makes the fight against piracy urgent, and why initiatives like MultiChoice’s sensitisation remain critical in safeguarding the future of Nigerian storytelling.
The anti-piracy sensitisation programme is part of MultiChoice’s intensified efforts to curb intellectual property theft in Nigeria.
