NCC disconnects 1,300 illegal TV subscribers, arrests five

THE Nigerian Copyright Commission has disconnected over 1,300 illegally connected television subscribers in separate anti-piracy operations in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states. The NCC said those disconnected were involved in unauthorised transmission of copyright protected broadcast signals of Multichoice (DSTV), HiTV and MyTV cable television stations. In a statement by NCC in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the commission said that apart from the disconnection exercise, it also confiscated accessories worth N6m that were used by the illegal subscribers. According to the statement signed by the Assistant Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Vincent Oyefeso, five suspects were arrested during the operations carried out by copyright inspectors, in collaboration with Multichoice and armed mobile policemen. It stated, "In Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, the copyright inspectors raided Botex Television for hacking the broadcast signals of Multichoice (DSTV, HiTV and MyTV. "About 500 illegal house-to-house pay television receivers were disconnected, while an estimated N3m worth of illegal broadcasting gadgets and accessories were impounded by the commission," the commission stated. It listed the items seized during the operations in Ikot Ekpene to include seven smart cards, 26 illegal decoders, 35 transmission boosters, signal splitters, accounting and subscription records, cable wires, TV sets, generators and stabilizers. The statement added that while two employees of Botex Television were arrested, two subscribers were also apprehended with the aim of serving as witnesses in court. "On December 5, 2011, in Yenagoa, one million naira worth of infringing broadcast facilities and accessories were confiscated, while about 400 illegal pay-TV house-to-house connections were disconnected as a result of three anti-piracy operations executed in the Bayelsa State capital," the statement read.
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