Following the raid on alleged fake phone dealers at the Ikeja Computer Village in Lagos by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Phone and Allied Product Dealers Association of Nigeria (PAPDAN) has threatened to closedown the market for three consecutive days, beginning from today Monday, in protest of the raid.

PAPDAN is the association of mobile phone dealers at the Computer Village market.

Chairman of PAPDAN, Mr. Godfrey Iyke Nwosu, who issued circular to all its members to boycott business at the ever busy market beginning from today, to protest the sudden raid on its members by SON on Saturday, told THISDAY that the decision to closedown the market for three days became necessary following the continued harassments by SON and heavily armed policemen on the traders.

“I have been at the police station since morning on the matter and this time around, we have to get to the root of the matter, because the incessant harassment is becoming unbearable, affecting legitimate business at the market,” Nwosu said.

According to him, all phone dealers in the market would embark on a three-day peaceful protest with all shops locked during the period. The protest will commence on Monday through Wednesday before shops will be reopened in the Computer Village market, he further explained in a phone conversation with THISDAY.

But in a swift reaction, the Secretary of Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (CAPDAN), Mr. John Oboro, dismissed the threat to close down the entire Computer Village market, while insisting that business must go on in spite of the trouble. CAPDAN is the umbrella body of all traders at the Ikeja Computer Village.

According to Oboro, PAPDAN is a subset of CAPDAN and had no right to shutdown the entire market in the name of peaceful protest.

THISDAY had yesterday exclusively reported the pandemonium that broke out in the market on Saturday morning, following the sudden raid on suspected fake phone dealers by the management of SON.

Trouble started when the suspected phone dealers tried to resist arrest by heavily armed policemen that accompanied SON to the market to clampdown on suspected fake phone dealers.

The raid led to a complete breakdown of law and order at the Computer Village market, leading to a free-for-all.

Policemen were forced to shoot sporadically into the air and used tear gas on the traders in order to effect arrest.

Although arrests were made, but the manner at which the raid was carried out angered other market dealers, who started throwing stones and other weapons at the police as well as on nearby buildings.

According to an eyewitness, the market community suspected that Tecno Mobile, one of the dealers of genuine mobile phones in the market, must have informed and invited SON to raid the market of suspected fake phone dealers.

The anger, according to eyewitness, made the traders to attack 3C Hub glass building located inside Computer Village.

The building was built and owned by Tecno Mobile, and the attack led to the chattering of the entire glass building.

The situation became chaotic and uncontrollable at some point in time, leading to closure of shops in the computer village for fear of looting.

The shops were however reopened for business during the later part of the day on Saturday.

When contacted, the spokesman for Techno Mobile, Mr. Chidi Okonwo, did not confirm the allegation on Tecno Mobile, but promised to give the official report of Tecno Mobile at a later time.

However, SON’s Head of Intelligence and Compliance Directorate, Mr. Bede Obayi, who briefed journalists after the raid, the exercise was diligently carried out, following the surveillance team’s reports which indicated the influx of substandard phones into the market. He added that a handset dealer at Otigba road, in the Lagos computer village, called Trinity Technologies and Communication Limited, came to SON and registered a brand called ‘H-Mobile’ phone, only for SON to discover thereafter that the company had embarked on the importation of different brands of handset other than the H-Mobile it registered with SON.

Besides, Obayi continued: “The company also imported a large quantity of unbranded handsets into the country and kept its self busy labelling them with marks of popular brands in the market thereby deceiving the unsuspecting innocent buyers.”

The Managing Director of the company who apparently got wind of SON’s presence at his shop, took to his heels. However, two of his staff are now helping SON and the police in locating his warehouse, where it is believed that he has a stockpile of the fake handsets, being a big time distributor of the product.

However, Obayi expressed shock at the unholy attitude of the market leaders who instigated their boys to assault SON officials and the police with dangerous weapons during which the agency’s vehicles were destroyed.

He said: “Our operation in the market was very smooth as our target was only the Trinity Technologies and Communication limited shop and we requested other traders who converged around us to go about their businesses. Nobody was molested or insulted by our men and policemen attached to us, as we consulted with the police in charge of the market and they provided us with a place to park our vehicles.

“Even their market leaders were informed about our operation in the market as SON and market associations in major markets across the country have been collaborating to rid markets of fake and substandard goods.

“So, if Lagos computer village market association leaders are now collaborating with dealers in fake and substandard goods in their market, that will be the next thing the SON management has to decide on how to handle, “ he concluded.

The SON Head of Intelligence and Compliance further said the Director General of the organisation had before now given all the importers five months grace for them to register their products with the SON.

“Those who have refused to take advantage of this grace period must be ready to face full weight of the law but those companies that have keyed in to the e-product registration regime of the organisation must be protected by the law.

“SON does not derive pleasure in seizing and destroying goods but rather to protect and guide innocent consumers from falling prey to the tricks of unscrupulous business men whose stock in trade is to reap their buyers off.

He advised Nigerians to go to any SON offices across the country for complaints as SON has a consumer complaint desks, which handle complaints from consumers who are duped through the purchase of products which do not give value for their money.

He also advised importers to go to SON for proper guidance before embarking on any form of importation as non-registration of goods as well goods not accompanied with SONCAP certificates risk seizure and long delays before release, as sampled goods must undergo laboratory analyses with a view to ascertaining its quality.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/traders-threaten-to-shutdown-ikeja-computer-village-for-three-days/183572/