The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has shut down a fake fertilizer site and arrested the producer of the product, Ibrahim Ahmed, at Chinade in Katagum Local Government of Bauchi State.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the organisation also confiscated more than 150 bags of counterfeited fertilizers that were produced.
The North-East Zonal Coordinator, Adamu Abba, while parading the suspect in Bauchi, said the suspect was arrested by the Organisation’s operation team on market day in the town.
Abba said the alleged producer was caught in the process of bagging four different fertilizer brands, Mai Rago, Freedom, Boko and Indoorama, into Golden Fertilizer bags, which he would later sell to the unsuspecting public as the latter.
He informed that over 150 bags of the fake products were evacuated from the producer’s shop.
The head of the operations team, Malam Murtala Sa’ad, while speaking said “the suspect was arrested based on an intelligence report received by the Organisation.”
He added that on the reception of the report, the organisation quickly mobilised to the town, where the counterfeit products were confiscated, while the producer was also arrested.
According to Sa’ad, who doubles as the Bauchi State Coordinator of SON, “During the operations, we were able to confiscate over 150 bags of counterfeit Golden Fertilizer already made at the site and we closed down the place.
“We also got him (producer) arrested without any resistance from him and members of the community.”
He said at the end of the ongoing investigation, the suspect would be charged to court for violating provisions of Section 26 of the SON Act, 2015 as amended.
He said while the suspect was being interrogated, feigned ignorance of any existing laws prohibiting what he did.
He added that high demand for the Golden Fertilizer brand forced him to re-bag other products as the high demand brand.
“I am not aware of any existing laws on standardization. Also, there is high demand for Golden Fertilizer in the market by our farmers,” he said.
He, however, urged the Organisation to be lenient with him, being a first-time offender, saying that, “I am appealing to SON to temper justice with mercy on me because this is the first time I am making this mistake.”
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