The Nigerian Press Council (NPC) has announced a strengthened partnership with the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to combat the surge of online piracy, misinformation and copyright abuse across the country’s expanding digital media ecosystem.
Speaking at a seminar in Abuja themed “Beyond Reporting: The Media, Copyright and the Nigerian Creative Economy,” NPC Executive Secretary, Dr. Dili Ezughah—represented by Director of Marketing, Mr. Jacob Atang—said the collaboration is essential to restoring credibility, protecting intellectual property and empowering journalists in a fast-changing digital environment.
Ezughah noted that while the Press Council regulates ethical standards in print media, the explosion of unverified online content has deepened Nigeria’s struggles with fake news, misinformation and professional sabotage.
“Today, anyone with a smartphone can publish harmful information. This partnership with NCC is critical to reducing online piracy to the barest minimum,” he said.
To address this, the NPC is developing a pre-fact-checker digital tool designed to detect misinformation before it circulates widely. The upcoming app will monitor online publishing patterns and intercept misleading, fabricated or malicious content.
“It will help identify false information before it goes public. Our goal is to stem misinformation and protect national stability,” Ezughah added.
He also disclosed that a bill is underway to expand the NPC’s mandate to include electronic media, strengthening its regulatory oversight in the digital age.
Journalists Must Become Copyright Advocates — Experts
Art and culture advocate Mr. Jahman Anikulapo urged journalists to rise beyond routine reporting and become defenders of intellectual property within the creative economy.
He argued that copyright infringement is essentially theft, and journalists must actively support NCC’s mandate by exposing violators.
“As cultural reporters, you belong to the ecosystem. Defending creators is defending yourself,” he said.
Media law expert Mr. Mike Akpan emphasised that journalists produce protected creative works—articles, photographs, videos—and must understand their rights and responsibilities under Nigeria’s copyright laws.
He warned that ethical reporting requires balancing public interest with respect for intellectual property.
“A journalist’s work is automatically protected upon creation. Understanding copyright is essential to sustaining a thriving creative ecosystem,” he noted.
Speakers collectively commended NCC leadership for championing reforms that safeguard creators, journalists and Nigeria’s broader creative economy.
BRANDECONOMY Insight
Nigeria’s creative economy—spanning media, entertainment, digital publishing, advertising and content technology—is projected to surpass US$15 billion in value within a decade. But this growth is under existential threat as piracy, unlicensed content sharing, AI-generated plagiarism and weak digital governance erode creator revenue and undermine industry credibility.
The NPC–NCC collaboration signals a long-overdue shift toward pre-emptive content governance, not just punitive enforcement. If the pre-fact-checker tool works as envisioned, it could become one of Africa’s first national early-warning systems against misinformation—especially vital ahead of election cycles, policy debates and social-media-fuelled disinformation storms.
For Nigeria’s media houses and journalists, this partnership is an invitation to redefine the profession: from passive reporting to active gatekeeping in a digital economy where reputation, trust and IP protection determine survival.
