SON Cracks Down on Fake Electrical Products Dealers in Jos

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

As part of efforts to rid Nigeria of sub-standard products, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in Jos has seized substandard foreign electric cables worth millions of Naira in Jos/Bukuru metropolis of Plateau State, sealing off affected shops.

Plateau Coordinator of SON, Mr. George Musa, who led the raid on the shops, said the exercise which would be continuous was aimed at ridding the country of fake and substandard products, noting that the organisation started with electric cables because electric cable is one of the products categorised as life endangering products.

He said Nigeria has one of the best, if not the best cables in the world and wondered why people patronise substandard imported cables.

“If substandard electric cables are used to wire a house and there is a problem of power surge, the cable can easily yield and melt down because they are mainly made from iron with very low resistance compared to copper”, Musa noted, and added that it can even lead to fire outbreak and destroy the whole building.

He stated that the affected shops would remain sealed until SON finishes its investigation and gets an approval from its head office to reopen the shops.
“It will not end with the sealing of the shops; those whose offences are grievious would be taken to court and prosecuted according to the law. We are doing this because people are dying from the use of substandard products.”

He stated that the seized cables would not be returned to the owners but would be destroyed after conclusion of investigation.

According him, SON would not just raid shops but also go after manufacturers that refuse to conform to standards in spite of consistent warning from the organisation.

Musa added that other building materials would also be checked to ensure that they conform to standard. He said, “We are also going to visit tyre dealers and many other products including provisions’ supermarkets, to ensure that the products conform to standard.”

Among the shop sealed are; Okey Dubai Electrical Shop, Jenco Electrical Shop, and Jutex Electrical Associates, all in Rwang Pam business area of Jos. Others are Iky Moor Investment Co at Church street and Jonny Electrical Company Ltd, located opposite the General Post Office, Jos.