Multimesh Demands N66m from NCC

Multimesh Communication Limited is demanding for N66million as compensation from the Nigeria Copyrights Commission (NCC) for alleged vandalization and closure of its cable station in Calabar, Cross Rivers State.
Sir Godfrey Ohuabunwa, CEO of Multimesh, narrated to members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions what transpired on that day. “On Thursday, the 8th of January 2008, a team of armed mobile policemen  in the company of one Mr. Ajala from the Nigerian Copy right Commission in Lagos, stormed our television station in Calabar, asked all the staff and customers to lie down on the floor, took away their phones , broke our offices and safes, and carted away our transmitters, computers, files, invoices, receipt booklets  and various valuables, including cash and shut down our station, on guise of a false complaint by HiTV Ltd.”
According to both Multimesh and HiTV, we have a subsisting agreement, and the NCC acted wrongly to have shut down Multimesh’s Calabar station based on mere commercial disagreement.
Ohuabunwa noted that since the disagreement has been amicably resolved, the NCC would be required to pay for vandalization of property at the Calabar station.
Resolution of the commercial contract deal was also confirmed by representative of HiTV who was at the hearing.
However, in what appeared a sudden twist to the petition, Jacob Sunday Fagbemi who stood in for Mr. Adebambo Adewopo, DG, NCC, disclosed that the Commission has sued Multimesh Communication for criminal piracy.
He said the action was filed in an Abuja court on March 5, adding that the next hearing has been fixed for May 14, 2009.
In his intervention, Hon. CID Maduabum, chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Petition, asked the NCC delegate if he was aware of the subsisting commercial agreement between Multimesh and HiTV, to which he denied knowledge.
On whether he would have acted differently if he had knowledge about the deal, Fagbemi insisted that the Commission’s inquiries had exposed serious of copyrights breach, and so to that effect, dragged Multimesh to court.