SON Seals Company For Counterfeiting Different Engine Oil Brands

Harboursandport.com: Lagos - The Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON has ordered the indefinite sealing of a counterfeiting company, Mate Energy Industries Limited, where different brands of engine oil are being counterfeited.

The company located in Shimawa area of Ogun State is a blending plant renowned for blending different brands of engine on demand by any customer who asks for them.

The Director-General, SON, Mallam Farouk Salim who disclosed this in Lagos, advised users of engine oil to be cautious in making purchases of the product to avoid patronage of substandard and life-endangering products.

From L-R Suleiman Alhaji Isa Director and Head Lagos Region, the suspect Mr Humble Igwe, Mr Akintotogun Rabiu Managing Director Mate Energy Industries Ltd alongside Mr Omale of FCID Alagbon.

Represented by the Director, Lagos Regional Office, and Coordinator, Surveillance, Investigation, and Monitoring, SIM Unit, Suleiman Isa, the SON Chief Executive who directed that the premises be sealed, was as a result of intelligence gathered regarding a particular product, Efemaco Engine oil which has been in circulation for a couple of months. He said the enforcement exercise was in collaboration with Force Criminal And Investigation Department, FCID, Alagbon produced a suspect, Humble Igwe who led the SON team to the contract blending plant where various brands of engine oil were been manufactured.

He described a situation where any trader can walk into a blending plant and demand that a brand of Engine oil should be counterfeited and adulterated as shocking. The SON boss stressed that this is indeed a wake-up call for all Nigerians and a signal, particularly to SON that there is still a lot of work to be done.

In a statement signed by Head, Media SON, Maji Aileku, noted that Salim pointed out that the issue of contract blending which is a situation where people are paid to blend engine oil to produce substandard variants that have no close or remote resemblance to the original brand of engine oil is a crime that would be prosecuted in line with the provisions of the SON Act 14 of 2015 and the criminal code.

He advised the public to patronize only certified Made - in – Nigeria brands of engine oil with the MANCAP logo and imported brands that have undergone the SON off-shore conformity assessment (SONCAP) processes and are duly registered for traceability and quality verification.

A total of fourteen brands of lubricants were discovered to be manufactured by Mate Energy Industries Limited they include, Trust lubricant fluid, Bouton Panache, Crescent, Golden link, Beacon, and Efemaco.

The facilities of Mate Energy Industries Limited and its contents will remain sealed, while samples from all the brands will be taken for testing to ascertain the quality of all the brands.