NCC
Following its renewed campaign against online piracy, the Nigerian Copyright Commission, with the assistance of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), the Nigerian Registry for the country top level domain, has secured the suspension of MovieBox.ng, an online site known for streaming pirated copyright materials including movies, music and live sports from Nigeria and other countries.
The suspension, which was with effect from 20th July 2025, has been commended by right owner associations in the movie, music and broadcast industries as a welcome development which shows that Nigeria, through the relevant agencies and other stakeholders, is serious about its renewed fight against online piracy.
In a preliminary report issued by the Commission, it described the illicit operations as suggesting a coordinated attempt to sustain piracy operations through clone or fallback domains. It also showed a coordinated effort by the website to evade detection and takedown by using multiple mirror domains to promote and gain access to copyright protected contents and a domain history that aligns with known piracy operations.
The Commission thanked NiRA for being responsive and called on other role players in the online space, especially Internet Service Providers and intermediaries to always act responsibly and expeditiously to take down notices and blocking directives as required under the Copyright Act, 2022. In the meantime, the Commission is also taking steps to make sure that other mirror sites for the platforms are deactivated.
It again advised the public to be warry of pirate sites that promises free streaming and downloads as they do not only infringe on the copyright but also target unsuspecting users who are exposed to malware, financial scams, identity thefts and other fraudulent activities.
The Copyright had earlier in the year launched the Stand Together against Online Piracy (STOP) campaign calling on all stakeholders – government agencies, ISPs, telecom operators, and industry leaders to stand together as frontline enforcement partners to protect creative content and guarantee the country’s digital future.
Dr. John Asein
Director General
Nigerian Copyright Commission
Leave a Reply