A witness on Thursday told a Federal High Court, sitting in Enugu State, that the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) sued him after he had refused to part with N30,000 bribe.
The witness, Mr. Augustine Amaechi, deals on Nigerian films and musicals in Enugu, and is standing trial before the court for allegedly breaching copyright laws.
The court is presided over by Justice Agatha Agishi.
As part of his defence, Amaechi testified before the court that the commission swooped on his shop sometime in 2011, impounded his goods and arrested his sales girl.
He said, “I had gone to Lagos for a business trip when the incident happened. My sales girl called me on phone and said the copyright commission in Enugu has arrested her.
“When I came back, I went there the following day; by that time, my elder brother has secured bail of my sales girl.
“I asked them to tell me the offence I committed by showing me any of the films that is a pirated copy.
“I equally told them that I have an authorisation from the National Film and Video Censors’ Board. I equally told them that I buy the films at an open market in Onitsha, but they didn’t want to hear any of these.”
He also said, “Instead, the commission’s staff told me to give them N30,000. I told them that I don’t have money; that I bought those films genuinely and as such, I won’t re-buy them.”
Amaechi stated that at that point, the officials got annoyed and asked him to come back after one week.
He further stated that when he returned at the expiration of one week, he demanded for his goods again. “But they still refused and took me to my house for a search,” he said.
According to him, they ransacked the entire place but found nothing.
“I pleaded with them to release the goods since they have not found anything incriminating. I even volunteered to take them to the place I bought the films, but the refused, insisting that I should give them N30,000.
“One of my colleagues who was also arrested paid the N30,000 and his goods were released to him. If I had parted with the money, they wouldn’t have brought me here,” said Amaechi.
He denied writing a document earlier tendered by the prosecution as his statement.
The case was adjourned to May 27, 2014 for continuation of hearing.