The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) confiscated fake electrical cables and wires valued at N30.5 million during a raid on major markets in Ekiti State on Tuesday.
The operation followed an intelligence report indicating that some vendors were selling substandard cables. In response, a SON task force sealed several shops and seized the counterfeit items.
Pius Manji, the Director of SON’s Inspectorate and Compliance Department, represented by Engineer Joel Aboyeji, stated that the raid aimed to cleanse the markets of these substandard products and prevent them from reaching consumers. Aboyeji explained that the counterfeiters had cloned popular brands to deceive buyers, a practice that harms local manufacturers, discourages investment, and poses a fire hazard in households due to the flammability of poor-quality cables.
Aboyeji added that SON would not only seize these dangerous products but also prosecute the vendors responsible for introducing them into the market.
Farouk Salim, SON’s Director General, highlighted last year that many fire outbreaks in Nigeria could be attributed to the use of imported, substandard electrical cables.
