Gom Mirian
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Babatunde Irukera, has alleged that influential figures in Nigeria are responsible for the alarming rise of counterfeit products around the country.
In an interview with Arise TV on Saturday, Irukera emphasised the complexity of the problem, stating that the participation of powerful individuals often hinders law enforcement efforts.
He stressed the urgent need to establish a consequence management system that delivers appropriate penalties swiftly, noting that while some businesses and individuals are deterred by the possibility of facing penalties for their criminal activities, others are not.
“I know the issue of substandard and fake products is a national priority. What we have seen in the past couple of months is an unusual and unprecedented escalation. But it’s multi-faceted.
“I remember one of the cases that I got involved with when I became the Director General of the Consumer Protection Council was a raid in respect to fake rice in Uyo. We followed that for a while, and our operatives from our south-south office in Port Harcourt had interdicted some.
“What happened was that some of our employees who are Federal Government employees were detained by the state government because the people who were involved were pretty powerful and because my employees got detained, that is why I said we are going to open this case a little further and we put everything together and we got those people arrested. The case till now has not ended,” Irukera said.
