SON isolates fake from genuine cosmetics products in Lagos

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on Tuesday began the process of quarantining cosmetics products belonging to Jouf Ventures Nigeria Limited, whose warehouse is located at Comfort Oboh Street, along Kirikiri Industrial Road, Apapa, Lagos.

The company’s products were earlier seized in May when the SON raided its warehouses, where cosmetics products were found with expiry dates of 2011, 2012, 2014 and early 2017.

Speaking with Journalists during the isolation of fake from genuine products in Lagos, Bede Obayi, SON’s director of monitoring and compliance, said the agency had concluded its investigations and found out that the expired products were yet to leave the premises of the company.

“We are here to separate the expired from the unexpired products and quarantine them for destruction. We are going to ensure that these products are fully separated from those that are not expired. The SON cannot be part of anybody stocking expired and unexpired products together,”  Obayi said, promising that the products would be destroyed in full public glare.

Obayi disclosed that the agency found out recently that some unscrupulous people were faking its Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) and the SON Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) certificates, stressing that the agency would not fold its arms and allow such to continue.

He said the SON was desirous with improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria, adding that importers under-declaring products in containers, people preventing government agencies from inspecting their products or those not discharging their responsibilities in line with the statutory provisions of the law were not helping the business environment.

Babatunde Alajogun, SON prosecutor and chief state counsel, said the SON officials had the privileges and rights of police officers to enter into any premise to ensure that substandard products did not enter into the country or get into the hands of consumers.

“Nobody can say that SON cannot enter the ports, except it is subject to other directives. SON can enter any place as far as commercial or industrial activities are going on there and will be injurious to the society or to the Nigerian economy,” Alajogun,  lawyer, said.

He said it was an offence for anybody or corporate body to prevent the SON from carrying out its lawful duties, adding that the SON Act No14 of 2015 empowered SON to enter anywhere and do its job.

“Everything they have done so far has the full backing of that Act of 2015. The Act has made provisions for offences. Aside the SON Act, we are using the Criminal Code for the prosecution of offenders,” he said, adding that Jouf Ventures Nigeria Limited could be prosecuted later.

“If you have been following the events recently, we have made some arrests concerning substandard products. For instance, the case we have with importation of fake tyres is now in court. This may go the same line. Those making these products can be prosecuted and the products can be destroyed,” he stressed.

ODINAKA ANUDU