Director-General, SON, Mr Osita Aboloma, at the destruction exercise on Tuesday explained that the substandard electric cables with no economic value were dangerous to both lives and property.

Aboloma represented by the Director, Inspectorate and Compliance, SON, Mr Obiora Manafa, reaffirmed SON’s zero tolerance for substandard products in spite of the continued efforts of unscrupulous importers.

He furthered that the organisation would continue to engage in its numerous sensistisation programmes on the negative impact of substandard products.

“These cables can do a lot of harm to the economy,  and they were seized from importers who stocked them in their warehouses.

“We are currently destroying four truck loads of substandard electric cables, while the other ones we seized are undergoing court processes and will be ready for destruction anytime we get the court orders,” he said.

Aboloma stated that the seized cables failed the conductor and insulator resistance parameters and as such, were unsafe for use.

“It is our responsibility to ensure that these goods do not enter the market because there are critical parameters in the standards namely conductor resistance and insulator resistance.

“These cables failed the standards woefully. These are cables that when you use them, you return from work and see your house burnt to the ground.

“These cables are so dangerous that you do not see them burning and if you are not there or in the middle of the night, your house gets burnt.

“We will not allow that and it is our responsibility in SON to ensure lives and property are safe”

“We are not happy that we are destroying these goods, because it is a loss to the owner and the nation, but we have the mandate to protect the lives and property of Nigerians even if it is only one life of a Nigerian.

“We are destroying them using burning and cutting; the ones that will not impact the environment adversely, we burn them because we do not want to pollute the environment.

“The cables were intercepted at some warehouses in Lagos courtesy of our surveillance team,” he said.

He said that made-in-Nigeria cables were the best because they complied strictly with the requirements of the standards body.

“Although many imported cables comply with the standards, but there are some Nigerians who go out there in spite of our level of sensitisation to import fake cables,” he said.

He advised consumers to always look out for made-in-Nigeria cables with MANCAP logo, while for imported products, look out for SON’s registration numbers.

“If you are in doubt, you can also make a call to the nearest SON office to verify if these cables are genuine or not.

“Consumers can also visit our website to verify any information they need,” he said.

Also speaking, Director General, Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC), John Asien, said the NCC would be increasing its level of synergy with the SON to stamp out substandard goods in the country.

Asien was represented by Director, Lagos Directorate, NCC, Mr Matthew Adeojo.

“We are here to synergise with our sister agency, SON, in the process of destroying counterfeited cables imported by unscrupulous importers.

“We would increase the level of our surveillance while policing our ports to ensure that these goods do not find their way into the country, because they are not fit for consumption,” he said.

He urged Nigerians to do things the right way by indulging in genuine businesses.

Asien said the importation of these fake cables had resulted in the burning of many houses and loss of many lives.

In her remarks, the Enforcement Officer, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Mrs Anyanime Ibah, commended SON for adhering strictly to NESREA’s sustainable destruction measures.

“We are here to ensure that SON is destroying these fake cables in an environmentally safe manner because they contain hazardous substances that are harmful to human health.

“We have been working with SON over the years providing advisory services on sustainable destruction measures and so far they have been complying with our regulations in their destruction processes,” she said. (NAN)