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The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has clamped down on a Chinese phone company – KZG Mobile, located in the Ikeja area of Lagos over the circulation of substandard phones in Nigeria.
It also arrested two Chinese nationals believed to be the brains behind the substandard phones.
Bede Obayi, director in charge of enforcement, told journalists that the operation followed intelligence reports volunteered SON by patriotic Nigerians, saying the agency had been monitoring the company before now.
Obayi said the SON had received complaints by Nigerian consumers over the quality of phones sold by the firm.
According to Obayi, SON had to act in the bid to safeguard people’s hard-earned money as well as protect the reputation of the country, saying products sold in the Nigerian market must comply with the Nigerian Industrial Standards.
He said the managing director of the company had earlier accepted responsibility for the bringing in of the phones into Nigeria, but later refused press interview, adding that even his staff confirmed they were responsible for the importation of the phones.
“They are not ready to talk, and their attitude shows clearly that they know what they are doing,” Obayi said.
Information available to them shows that the firm is a leading importer of substandard phones into Nigerian, and this is proven by some of the documentations discovered in the company’s offices, Obayi said.
“We decided to shut the shop and office until further investigation by SON, this is to reduce the circulation of a sub-standard phones in the market”, Obayi said
According to him, phones of the nature could pose a lot of hazards and it is necessary they be held until investigations are completed.
He said despite statutory requirements that products produced in the country should have MANCAP certificate, that the phones in question had none.
“What we have seen here shows that these people are not genuine manufacturers. Nigerians using the products have complained to us about the products, and that was why we decided to step in. The shop is already shut. We are also going with them, to alert consumers that have their products to return them to avoid endangering their lives,” he said.
The two alleged suspects have been handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.
It would be recalled that the new Act of the SON No.14 SON empowers the agency to prosecute erring importers, and this should be enough deterrent to manufacturers and importers, he said.
