SON imprisons producer of fake fertilizer, takes hold of 150 bags in Bauchi

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria, in Bauchi State, says its operation team has imprisoned a suspected producer of fake Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium fertilizer at Chinade town in Katagum Local Government Area of the State.

It added that no fewer than 150 bags of counterfeit fertilizer were also reclaimed from the suspect at his shop located at Chinade market last week Saturday during its market day.

The SON North East Zonal Coordinator, Adamu Abba, who exhibited the suspect before journalists in the state on Saturday said he was caught generating the counterfeit Golden Fertilizer using four different combination sacks of fertilizer products of Mai Rago, Freedom, Boko, and Indoorama.

He said he was caught re-bagging the product into Golden fertilizer bags with the expectation of selling it as the original product to innocent consumers adding that over 150 bags of the counterfeit fertilizer were recovered from his shop

The head of the SON operations team, Murtala Sa’ad said upon the receipt of an intelligence report, he quickly mobilized his team to the site, and they were fortunate to arrest him at the location.

He said: “During the operation, we were able to confiscate over 150 bags of counterfeit Golden fertilizer already made at the site. We closed down the place and got him arrested without any resistance from both the producer and the community.”

Sa’ad said the suspect would be charged to court for prosecution on violation of Section (26) about the standards of the SON amended Act of 2015 after investigations are concluded.

The suspect, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed-Chanade, told journalists that he was pushed into the crime because of his desire to make quick money.

“I was ignorant of the existing laws on standardization. Secondly, I wanted to make quick money since there is a high demand in the market for the Golden Fertilizer by farmers.

“I’m appealing to them (SON) to harden justice with mercy on me because this is the first time I am making this error,” he claimed.

Edited by Damilola Adeleke