Education: NCC Seals Book Shops In Akure
By Exponent News Akure, 3rd September, 2025.
The Nigerian Copyright Commission- NCC has sealed some of the bookshops in Akure for allegedly selling pirated textbooks and unapproved textbooks for the proposed students that will be resuming for the new academic session. Some of the affected bookshops were Arowolo Bookshop, Noble Bookshop, and Dim’s New Era Bookshop for going against the rule of the game. According to the source, it was gathered that these bookshop owners were allegedly violating the laid-down rules by government policies in respect of selling unapproved textbooks to students in the state, particularly for those transiting from primary to secondary and from junior secondary to senior classes. The commission also accused them of selling pirated textbooks, which made them seal their business premises.
Similarly, when our reporters interacted with the affected organizations, it was gathered that they did not know the reasons behind the closure of their offices. According to the security man at the entrance of Arowolo Bookshop, he said, “The office was sealed up by the Association of Booksellers in the state.” When asked the reason why the office was sealed, his response was that he did not know what was happening inside the office.
Also, a staff member of Dim’s New Era Bookshop,, said that he did not know why their office was sealed. He said their CEO was having a meeting with the authorities responsible for the action.
Meanwhile, the Noble Bookshop CEO, when contacted on phone, said, “We are having issues with the NCC. We will resolve it, and moreover, I was not around as I traveled.” He has, however, he has not responded to the text message sent to his line as at the time of filing this report.
In another development, as learners are preparing to resume back to school from a long holiday, it is expected that most parents have started preparing for the purchase of educational materials for their wards against the next academic session. In line with this, most of the popular bookshops in Akure metropolis have stocked their shops with books with the intention of meeting the demands of learners, particularly the new students that will be entering JSS 1 and the new SS1 in different categories.
Recall that the state government, via the Ministry of Education, has banned the selling of unapproved textbooks and the graduation ceremonies for elementary schools and JS3 classes in the state for the purpose of improving educational standards in schools and also saving parents from some ambiguous expenses that always drain their purses whenever these events arise.
