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 got him (producer) arrested without any resistance from him and members of the community.”
He then informed that 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.
While fielding questions from journalists, the suspect feigned ignorance of any existing laws prohibiting what he did, adding that high demand for the Golden Fertilizer brand forced him to re-bag other products as the high demanded 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 SON to temper justice with mercy on me because this is the first time I am making this mistake.”