Wura, a popular Nigerian soap opera, tells the story of Wura Amoo-Adeleke, a ruthless chief executive of Frontline Gold Mine married to a police commissioner.
It is Showmax Nigeria’s most-watched show and also its longest-running series, with over 100 episodes already aired and a third season underway.
Yet, most people who watch Wura stream the show illegally, according to Showmax Nigeria.
While Wura’s popularity highlights Nigeria’s burgeoning film industry, known as Nollywood, it is also an example of how rife intellectual property rights violations through piracy are in the country.
Based on audience data, Nollywood loses a jaw-dropping N10 billion to 15 billion (US$6 million to $9 million) annually due to piracy.
“Nollywood has faced persistent challenges with intellectual property (IP) rights violations for decades and the consequences have been significant,” said Busola Tejumola, executive head of content and channels at MultiChoice, Africa’s largest pay-television group that owns Showmax.
“One of the most profound impacts has been financial, as content creators and investors in the industry are losing substantial potential income,” said Tejumola in an interview with Nairametrics. “The violation deprives them of the legitimate earnings they deserve from their work, stifling both individual and industry-wide growth,’ she said.
Tejumola said she feared there could be lasting damage to the industry unless the problem was properly addressed.
“This issue extends beyond Showmax, it’s affecting the revenue of the entire sector,” said Tejumola. Multichoice Group, in collaboration with Irdeto, a world leader in digital platform cybersecurity and key partners, conducted around 155 raids across Africa, leading to a successful shutdown of 4,351 pirate content networks, she said.
As a possible solution, MultiChoice announced in 2021 that it would reduce the cost of Showmax mobile subscriptions across Africa by an average of 20% for access on a single mobile device. Nigerians pay as little as N1600 (US $1) for a Showmax subscription. The music industry faces similar intellectual property rights violations. Access to Spotify and Apple Music is now as low as N400 (25 US cents) per person.
In 2015, Nigerian actor and producer Kunle Afolayan discovered that his film “October 1” had been pirated and was being sold on the streets of Lagos for just N500 ($3 in 2015 and $20 in 2024) a copy even before he had time to recoup the $2 million he invested in making the film. He threatened to leave Nigeria and took to social media to publicly challenge those who had pirated his work.
Although Nigeria has laws against piracy, the problem persists due to poor implementation of copyright laws, difficulty in prosecuting offenders, and corruption in agencies meant to police it, industry experts said.
Updated laws, but more needed
Samuel Samiai Andrews, a Nigerian IP lawyer and lecturer at Al Yamamah University in Saudi Arabia, said the revision of the 2004 Copyright Law helped bring the industry into the digital era.
“There is an economic power imbalance for Nigerian creatives in the music and film industry, coupled with a concerning lack of legal experts in the digital creative spaces and the limited state of legal infrastructure,” he said.
“While the new Copyright Act instituted in 2022 acknowledges the digital creative economy and its contemporary jurisprudence, further amendments to the copyright laws are needed, especially at the intersection between AI and law,” he added. “Nevertheless, there have been positive strides and improvement in Nigerian copyright policy since the beginning of the decade.”
Andrews blamed legal, social, and political factors for contributing to the lax copyright law in the country. “It took Nigeria over three years to amend copyright law to align with the current technological advancement and economic realities,” he said.
Adebayo Shittu, the country’s former communications minister, estimated in 2016 that about $287 million was lost annually due to software piracy, with 82% of software installed on personal computers taken from unlicensed sources. In 2019, Director General of the Nigerian Copyrights Commission, John Asien, disclosed that Nigeria lost N918 trillion ($3 billion) annually from piracy.
Meanwhile, the World Bank said that for every one legitimate CD sold in Nigeria, nine are pirated. It also estimated that about 80% of international CDs available in the country are pirated, and 40% of local products are similarly affected. Globally, piracy accounts for about 7% of trade, but in Nigeria, it’s a staggering 80%, the institution said.
Queen Blessing Ebigieson, president of the Association of Movie Producers in Nigeria, the industry’s biggest lobby group, said it had been working closely with law enforcement agencies to combat piracy and to protect its members.
“We take piracy and intellectual property rights seriously,” she said, adding that the association had launched a campaign to educate the public on the dangers of piracy. “This is because intellectual property rights violations through piracy have cost Nollywood producers a lot of money and hindered the industry’s growth,” Ebigieson said.
Some fans are willing to pay
Juanita Abii, an entertainment lawyer who works directly with labels and artists, said Nigerian artists were cultivating a fanbase that were willing to pay for legal platforms.
“A loyal fanbase means more willing customers for paid streams who will also watch you perform, thereby driving revenues,” she said.
Abii added: “While Nigeria has updated its copyright laws, enforcement remains a significant challenge. The agency responsible for safeguarding and collecting royalties has been marred with controversies and internal struggles, making it harder for artists to reap their yield. Additionally, a lack of awareness has also contributed to the issue.”
James Omokwe, a Nigerian film producer at Showmax, known for shows such as Chetam, Diiche, Riona, Ajoche, and Itura, said he was less affected by IP issues since he operates as a producer on a one-off payment basis. “If I earned royalties, I might be running at a loss or low revenue due to many Nigerians’ preference for art consumption through illegal means,” he explained. He added: “Streaming has allowed Nigerian filmmakers to recoup their production costs and make profits.”
Lagos’ state government did not reply to requests for comment on piracy and how it affects revenue. However, in 2024 Inland Revenue Service executive, Ayodele Subair, said the state was trying to update its tax laws.
Ebigieson, the president of the Association of Movie Producers Nigeria, said the government could bolster the film industry through a more favorable tax regime, loans, and grants. However, she said the industry needed stronger protections against IP violators.
“I also suggest potential jail terms for violators while actively building an environment to promote education and awareness,” she added.
This story was written as part of Wealth of Nations, a pan-African media skills development programme supported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation as part of its global work aiming to strengthen free, fair and informed societies. Any financial assistance or support provided to the journalist has no editorial influence. The content of this article belongs solely to the author and is not endorsed by or associated with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Thomson Reuters, Reuters, nor any other affiliates. More information at www.wealth-of-nations.or