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SON accuses Computer Village traders of colluding with dealers of fake phones

By BusinessNews Staff on July 18, 2014

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) yesterday raised alarm over
the complicity of the Phone and Allied Products Dealers Association
(PAPDA) in the sale and distribution of fake and substandard mobile
phones in the country.

Briefing journalist yesterday about the ongoing offensive of the standards agency against the circulation of fake phones in Nigeria, the Head, Inspectorate and Compliance Department, SON, Mr. Bede Obayi, said the computer village umbrella trade association called PAPDA has been conspiring with miscreants to prevent SON from carrying its enforcement exercise to rid the market of fake phones.

To intensify its surveillance of the mobile phone market in the country, SON also announced yesterday that all phone dealers in the country had only seven days to register their products with the agency, to enable it trace the importers and manufacturers of fake handsets when they are sold to unsuspecting consumers.

Obayi said PAPDA which under normal circumstances should encourage the sanitisation of the phone market, fought against the exercise to the extent of organising hoodlums to attack SON officials, indicating its complicity in the illicit trade.

During the enforcement exercise, SON specifically targeted Trinity Technologies and Communications, identified as the kingpin of the unscrupulous trade activity in the computer village.

Obayi said Trinity Technologies and Communication brings in cheap unbranded phones from abroad and brands them with the hard earned marks of major brands, in order to hoodwink Nigerian consumers into patronising the fraudulent products.

He said apart from duping unsuspecting Nigerian consumers, these unscrupulous traders are also short changing brand owners who have made significant investment to promote their brands to prominence.

Displaying the fraudulent phones, Obayi said: “As you can see, what you see on the package is different from what you see when you open the phone. This calls for caution and when anybody is buying a product in this country, you should take a good look at it before purchasing it. We do not want Nigerians to be shortchanged with these labels. This is economic sabotage and we can not tolerate it.

“These phones are carrying different labels, indicating that they are fake and sub-standard. We carried out a surprise raid at the warehouse where these products were stockpiled. The owner/importer is one of those who specialise in bringing fake phones and accessories into Nigeria.”

He advised all brand owners to be on top of their brands, saying that SON would collaborate with them to ensure that every phone in the country is traceable to the importers and manufacturers.

“The move to get all phones that are sold in Nigeria registered will help us minimise areas of confusion, minimise areas of faking and substandard activities. We can no longer take this and Nigeria will no longer continue to be a dumping ground for substandard products,” he said.

He added that going forward, SON will be having a stakeholders’ forum with phone operators to hint them on the need to register their products and also get the SONCAP certificates to ensure that goods coming into the country conform to the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS).

[This Day]

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