The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has seized pirated books valued at about ₦5 million during a monitoring and inspection exercise in the Makurdi metropolis, Benue State.

According to reports, the operation targeted bookshops and printing outlets suspected of selling or producing unauthorized copies of educational materials. Books were confiscated from two bookshops and a printing press within Makurdi.

The exercise was led by the Benue State Coordinator of the NCC, Thomas Mgbangun, alongside six commission officers, security personnel, journalists, and representatives from Metropolitan Publishers Limited, University Press Limited, and Learn Africa.

In total, the team visited three bookshops and seven printing outlets across the city. Mgbangun disclosed that 1,133 pirated books, estimated at ₦5.6 million, were recovered, while one suspect was apprehended during the raid.

He cautioned individuals involved in the illegal reproduction and sale of intellectual property to desist from such acts or risk prosecution under the law.