SON shuts warehouses, shops in Lagos

THE Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has shut several shops in the Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association (ASPAMDA) market on the Lagos/ Badagry expressway and arrested notorious counterfeiters and importers of fake and substandard goods.

The market had come under SON’s hammer following several surveillance exercises undertaken as a result of constant complaints by the public, who have endured years of losing their funds to the merchants of fake auto parts, machineries, batteries among others.

Its director–general, Mr. Osita Aboloma, said the agency was concerned about the alleged fraudulent cloning and faking of WSK Rotor Heads by Mr. Ikechukwu Egwuatu, the manager of Munduo Auto Limited, despite a seal order by a court of competent jurisdiction. He frowned at the practice of cloning successful brands by unscrupulous businessmen to make quick gains, depriving the trade mark owners of their benefit.

He said SON Act 2015 empowers the agency to arrest and prosecute offenders, warning that the SON would make it impossible for fakers to thrive.

He said: “This man has being importing substandard Rotor Heads with another person’s trade mark. He was arrested three years ago and rather than refraining from the illegal Act, he decided to go to court and predictably lost at the court. One would think that good reasoning would have made him to refrain and engage in a legal business besides working on getting his own trademark. But unfortunately, he has refused all entreaties and we were left with no other option but to bring to bear the full weight of the law on him to serve as deterrent”.

The SON boss who was represented by the agency’s Director of Market Survey, Mr. Isa Suleiman, said SON is working on every sector to bring sanity and also raise the confidence of both manufacturers and consumers. He said standards are improved and reviewed regularly to meet up with current technology.

On the arrest of several battery  and tyre importers and the sealing of their warehouses in the market, he explained that many of them have being found to be engaged in illegal relabelling of popular battery brands with low quality varieties. He added that they went to the extent of inputting wrong capacities to the batteries, thereby deceiving the public.

He advised Nigerians to desist from buying used tyres, noting that it was a sure way to sudden death. He encouraged the people to buy new tyres and ensure that they check the day of manufacture, storage condition and packaging.

 

 

 

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