Cable counterfeiting: Coleman demands jail terms, stiffer penalties

Coleman Technical Industries Limited has called for stiffer penalties, including imprisonment, for manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit and substandard cables, accusing weak enforcement of allowing the illicit trade to thrive in Nigeria.

The company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, George Onafowokan, said confiscating and destroying fake cables without prosecuting those behind their production and distribution would do little to deter the growing counterfeiting business.

Onafowokan made the call while responding to questions from journalists after a media tour of Coleman’s factories in Sagamu, Ogun State, on Monday.

He specifically challenged the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to strengthen its enforcement and prosecution efforts, questioning the number of counterfeit cable manufacturers and distributors that had been successfully prosecuted by the regulator.

He tasked enforcement agencies to go beyond seizure and destruction of substandard products by ensuring that offenders face criminal sanctions.

“If there is no consequence, all you’ve done is just remove a little off my shelf. I’ll buy another one because you did not tell me I’ve become a criminal for doing it,” he said.

Onafowokan also alleged that SON sometimes places greater emphasis on charging manufacturers for testing their cables than on working with other relevant agencies to prosecute counterfeiters.

He urged the regulator to adopt a more aggressive enforcement approach, citing the activities of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) against counterfeit pharmaceutical products as an example.

The Coleman CEO warned that the consequences of substandard cables went beyond economic losses to manufacturers, stressing that the products could trigger electrical fires and endanger lives.

He disclosed that Coleman had been working with the Nigeria Police Force, including the office of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Tunji Disu, as well as various zonal and state commands, in efforts to identify and prosecute cable counterfeiters.

According to him, the company has incurred significant costs supporting investigations and legal proceedings, including laboratory testing of suspected adulterated cables.

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Onafowokan said Coleman was awaiting the conclusion of a case which, if successful, could become the first in Nigeria in which an individual is convicted and jailed specifically for adulterating cables.

He explained that counterfeit cables remained attractive to criminals because of the wide margin between production costs and selling prices.

The counterfeiters, he said, often use significantly less material and inferior inputs while selling their products at prices close to those of genuine cables.

Onafowokan said some substandard cables could contain 30 to 40 per cent less material by length, enabling counterfeiters to make excessive profits while exposing consumers to serious safety risks.

The Coleman boss called for stronger government support for local manufacturers under the Nigeria First policy, saying the company had benefited from growing local-content opportunities in the oil and gas and telecommunications sectors.

He said increased patronage of locally manufactured cables would not only support domestic industrial capacity but also reduce dependence on imported products that may not meet Nigerian standards.

Also speaking, Coleman Executive Director, Michael Onafowokan, said SON had a critical responsibility to create an environment in which genuine manufacturers could compete on the basis of quality while counterfeiters were effectively removed from the market.

He said counterfeiting was no longer limited to the importation of substandard products, noting that the illicit production of cables was increasingly taking place within Nigeria.

He therefore urged SON to intensify its surveillance, enforcement and prosecution activities against local manufacturers of fake cables.

Coleman’s Chief Operating Officer, Ilori Sanusi, called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to review existing laws on counterfeiting and raise the penalties to reflect the potential damage caused by substandard electrical products.

Sanusi said inadequate punishment could encourage offenders to continue in the illicit trade because the financial gains could outweigh the consequences of being caught.

He argued that penalties should be sufficiently severe to deter manufacturers and distributors from producing and selling substandard cables.

The renewed call by Coleman comes amid concerns over the safety implications of substandard electrical products and their impact on local manufacturers investing heavily in modern production facilities and quality-control systems.

The company maintained that stronger enforcement, effective prosecution and tougher sanctions were necessary to protect consumers, safeguard lives and create a level playing field for manufacturers that comply with Nigerian standards.