To curb increasing piracy of intellectual works, a motion picture practitioner, Mr Dele Odule, has urged the National Assembly members to initiate a bill that would apply stiffer penalties on pirates.

Odule, the National President, Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Producer of Nigeria (TAMPPAN), made the call while speaking with newsmen on Monday in Ilorin.

According to him, piracy is a global problem but is predominant in Nigeria due to the low penalty meted out to offenders and lack of actualisation of the law on the culprits.

“Film producers in Nigeria do not have retirement benefits like civil servants and our production is our benefit after retirement.

“But a situation where their works have been pirated, they are doomed and have a hopeless future,'' Odule said.

The TAMPPAN president called on the Federal Government to assist film producers by creating an enabling environment for the practice as in the developed countries.

“The Federal Government should try to build a large Film Village where practitioners will pay a token to the government, while TAMPAN members could be loaned the facilities at low interest rates,'' Odule said.