Lagos, March 3 (IANS): Nigerian government destroyed pirated items that valued 2.4 billion naira ($12 million), the media reported on Thursday.

The items were seized during enforcement raids by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) in Enugu State, said Afam Ezekude, director-general of the commission on Wednesday.

The items included software, books, CDs and DVDs, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Piracy is a crime and not a business, and that is why we are destroying these pirated products confiscated in the course of our enforcement campaign," he added.

"This represents the value of money that would have been lost to the nefarious activities of pirates to the detriment of our hard-working copyright owners", Ezekude said.

The director said the destruction would serve as a warning that piracy was no longer a lucrative venture.

He added that the commission, in the last five years, has carried out 227 anti-piracy raids and arrested 537 suspected pirates.