Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), with the assistance of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), has secured the suspension of MovieBox.ng, an online site known for streaming pirated copyright materials, including movies, music, and live sports from Nigeria and other countries.

This major breakthrough in the fight against piracy followed a renewed campaign mounted by the Commission against online piracy.

The suspension, which was effective from Saturday, July 20, 2025, has received commendation from rights owners’ associations in the movie, music, and broadcast industries.

Dr John Asein, director general,  NCC, said the development is a practical signal that the Commission is serious about its renewed fight against online piracy.

In its preliminary report, the Commission described the illicit operations as suggesting a coordinated attempt to sustain piracy operations through clone or fallback domains.

It also showed a coordinated effort by the website to evade detection and takedown by using multiple mirror domains to promote and gain access to copyright-protected content and a domain history that aligns with known piracy operations.

The Commission thanked NiRA, the Nigerian Registry for the top-level domain, for being responsive and called on other role players in the online space, especially Internet Service Providers and intermediaries, to always act responsibly and expeditiously to take down notices and blocking directives as required under the Copyright Act 2022.

Meanwhile, the Commission is also taking steps to ensure that other mirror sites for the platforms are deactivated.

The Director General has again advised the public to be wary of pirate sites that promise free streaming and downloads, as they not only infringe on copyright but also target unsuspecting users who are exposed to malware, financial scams, identity theft, and other fraudulent activities.

The Copyright Commission had earlier in the year launched the Stand Together against Online Piracy (STOP) campaign, calling on all stakeholders – government agencies, ISPs, telecom operators, and industry leaders – to stand together as frontline enforcement partners to protect creative content and guarantee the country’s digital future.

Banks in the country have begun suspending instant transaction alerts for cheques drawn from other banks until such cheques are fully cleared.

This is in compliance with a recent directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This new policy affects customers who receive cheques from other banks, signaling a major change in how cheque payments are confirmed.

According to the CBN directive, the move is intended to prevent confusion around the status of cheque payments and to curb premature release of goods and services before the actual receipt of funds.

In an email sent to its customers, Access Bank stated that moving forward, alerts for cheques deposited into accounts will only be sent after the cheque has been completely processed.

This is to notify you of the recent directive by the CBN which requires banks to send transaction alerts on payments of other bank cheque only upon cheque clearance.

This means that you would only receive alerts for other banks’ cheques paid into your account after the cheque has been fully processed, that is, after the funds are paid into your account or if the cheque is unpaid and and returned from the other bank.

As a result of this new directive, you will no longer receive alerts for cheques lodged into your account until the cheque is cleared or returned”, the bank stated.

Access Bank also advised customers to monitor their accounts through other available channels such as the AccessMore app, internet banking platforms, PrimusPlus, and the USSD service *901# to stay updated on the status of their cheque deposits.

To track your transactions and ensure you do not part with your goods and services prior to payment. Please use our other channels; Accessmore, Internet banking, PrimusPlus, *901#.

We remain committed to delivering seamless and secure banking services to you always”, it said.

The CBN’s directive is designed to protect both payees and payers by ensuring that goods or services are not exchanged before the actual payment has been confirmed.

Previously, customers often received immediate alerts once a cheque was lodged, leading to confusion when the cheque was later dishonoured.

A banking industry insider commented, “This change is critical in promoting financial discipline. It safeguards businesses from losses due to bounced cheques and helps maintain the integrity of cheque payments.”

While digital payment methods are on the rise in Nigeria, cheques still remain a significant payment instrument in various sectors, particularly in wholesale trade and business-to-business transactions.

The apex bank’s new guideline is expected to strengthen trust in cheque transactions by ensuring that payment confirmations are accurate and timely.

As the financial ecosystem evolves, this move is one among several measures aimed at enhancing the safety and reliability of banking transactions across Nigeria.

Credit: Daily Sun

Jane Idehen, director-general of Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited (NigComSat), has said  that the organisation is projecting an average annual revenue of three billion dollars as it expands its scope of operations.

disclosed this in Abuja at the July edition of DevsInGovernment MDA workshop series organised by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, with a focus on NigComSat.

The programme supported by Galaxy Backbone and World Bank was tagged: “Driving Operational Excellence through Technology at NigComSat.”

DevsInGovernment is a community that aims to create a group of technologists and tech enthusiasts within the civil service who are actively contributing to digital transformation across all government agencies.

The DG said that for NigComSat to grow, it had to explore new ideas and increase product life, which can lead to significant revenue increases.

“Currently we are projecting to average about three billion dollars in revenue year.

“If we can think about ideas, we can do more than that because if you can increase your product life, you can provide more solutions to problems,” she said.

She said that there were other revenue streams beyond broadcasting, which could double or triple the existing broadcasting revenues.

According to her, creating awareness about the programme’s services and solutions was crucial for its success.

Abiodun Attah, executive director of Technical Services at NigComSat, said the agency was charting a new course in its operations with a view to increasing its revenue earnings and serving the country better.

Attah said that one of the things the agency had done with the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) was to carry 2G, 3G, and 4G traffic in rural areas where there was no connectivity.

“In the past, NigComSat was shying away from going into enterprises; it was shying away from doing business outside the government sector.

“Now we have gone beyond that,” he added.