Posted by At Chinade in Katagum Local Government of Bauchi State, the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) seized more than 150 bags of fake fertilizer and detained the manufacturer.
When the suspect was being paraded in Bauchi, the SON North-East Zonal Coordinator, Adamu Abba, reported that Ibrahim Ahmed Chinade had been taken into custody by the organization’s operative team on the town’s market day.
The alleged maker, according to Abba, was busted while packaging four distinct fertilizer brands—Mai Rago, Freedom, Boko, and Indoorama—into Golden Fertilizer bags, which he would later pass off as the latter to the unwary public.
He revealed that the producer’s business had been cleared of more than 150 bags of the bogus goods.
Malam Murtala Sa’ad, the head of the operations team, also spoke during the press conference and stated that the producer and suspect were both arrested along with the counterfeit goods. He added that the suspect’s arrest was based on an intelligence report that the Organization had received.
Sa’ad, who also serves as the SON’s Bauchi State Coordinator, claims that during the operations, “we were able to seize over 150 bags of fake Golden Fertilizer that had already been manufactured at the location and we closed the business down.
“We also managed to get him (the producer) arrested without any opposition from him or community members.”
He continued by saying that the suspect would be brought up in court for breaking Section 26 of the SON Act, 2015 as amended, at the conclusion of the ongoing inquiry.
The suspect said he was unaware of any regulations that might have prevented what he did when answering questions from reporters, claiming that the tremendous demand for the Golden Fertilizer brand compelled him to rebag other products as the highly sought-after brand.
There are no standardization-related laws that I am aware of. Additionally, our farmers have a big need for Golden Fertilizer, he added.
But as he was a first-time offender, he pleaded with the Organization to show him forgiveness, stating, “I am appealing SON to temper justice with mercy on me because this is the first time I am making this mistake.”