The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) donated seized copies of the Holy Bible to correctional centres and remand homes via accredited NGOs during a ceremony at its Lagos office on Thursday, April 2. Director-General Dr John Asein, represented by Lagos Office Director Ms Lynda Alphaeus, described the gesture as symbolic and reflective of the NCC's balance between enforcing copyright law and respecting Nigeria's spiritual values. He clarified that while the message of the Bible is sacred, specific translations, commentaries and annotations are protected intellectual property under Section 9 of the Copyright Act, 2022. These rights extend to religious texts from countries within the Berne Convention, of which Nigeria is part, covering 182 nations.
Dr Asein stressed that unauthorised reproduction, importation or distribution of such works amounts to criminal copyright infringement. He noted that these actions harm publishers, distort religious content, support illicit trade and deprive the economy of revenue. While infringing materials are typically destroyed, the NCC refrains from destroying religious texts out of cultural sensitivity. Instead, seized Bibles are marked "NOT FOR SALE" and redirected to custodial institutions for non-commercial, rehabilitative use. The Commission collaborates with the Nigeria Customs Service and other agencies to block pirated goods at borders, in line with Nigeria's obligations under the WTO's TRIPS Agreement.
Seizing Bibles only to donate them reveals the awkward intersection of copyright enforcement and religious sentiment. Dr John Asein's explanation that translations and commentaries are protected works — not the divine text itself — draws a legal line few Nigerians pause to consider. This move does little to change how religious materials circulate widely without licenses across markets and churches. If enforcement remains selective, the policy signals more about optics than a real shift in how intellectual property laws are applied to sacred texts.
