A Magistrate Court sitting in the Ojodu Abiodun Magisterial District of Ogun State has sentenced a businessman, Samson Okonkwo, to jail with hard labour without an option of fine for selling counterfeit Coleman wires and cables.
Magistrate O.P. Mobee handed down the sentence on September 24, 2026, in Charge No. MOJ/138C/2025 between the Commissioner of Police and Okonkwo.
Okonkwo was arraigned on April 10, 2025, on a four-count charge, including conspiracy to forge Coleman wires and cable products, unlawful possession of forged products, and selling products bearing forged Coleman marks.
According to the judgment, 317 coils of cables bearing Coleman wraps and labels were recovered from the defendant. The prosecution told the court that tests and physical comparisons showed that the cables did not originate from Coleman Technical Industries Limited.
The court heard that while the recovered cables were marked as 2kg products, one of the seized cables weighed 1.2kg, compared with 2kg for a genuine product brought from the Coleman factory.
The prosecution also demonstrated differences in the copper content and other identifying features of the seized cables.
In his defence, Okonkwo, who resides at 5 Oderinde Street, Akute, Ogun State, said he had been trading in electrical items for 20 years.
He told the court that he bought the cables from Alaba Market and had receipts for the purchases, which he tendered as exhibits.
The court, however, held that the prosecution had established the counterfeit nature of the products and that the defendant’s defence did not satisfactorily rebut the direct evidence presented.
In sentencing the defendant, the court considered his status as a first-time offender, family man and breadwinner, but noted the dangers associated with counterfeit electrical cables, including cable sparks, electrical fires and electrocution.
Magistrate Mobee said the punishment was intended to serve the purposes of retribution, deterrence and protection of society.
The court consequently sentenced Okonkwo to jail with hard labour, without an option of fine.
Reacting to the judgment, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Coleman Technical Industries Limited, George Onafowokan, described the conviction of a trader for adulterating and faking Coleman cables as a major victory for the company, its customers and Nigeria.
Onafowokan said the judgment marked the first time, to his knowledge, that a person involved in the adulteration of cables had been legally convicted in Nigeria, describing it as an indication that the country was beginning to treat cable counterfeiting as a criminal offence.
He commended the Nigeria Police Force and the judiciary for supporting the company’s efforts to pursue the case, which he said had lasted for almost two years and involved raids and other enforcement actions.
According to him, the conviction demonstrated that businesses could continue to fight against the activities of counterfeiters and protect their investments, customers and employees.
Onafowokan, however, criticised the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), alleging that the regulator had not provided adequate support throughout the process.
He said that despite several raids, seizures and confiscations of adulterated cables over the years, there had been no corresponding criminal convictions that could serve as a deterrent.
He contrasted the situation with the enforcement approach of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), arguing that stronger consequences had helped to deter the sale of adulterated drugs.
The Coleman CEO said counterfeit and substandard cables posed serious risks because they could be undersized, lack proper fire-retardant properties and cause short circuits that could result in fires and loss of lives.
He called for stronger enforcement powers and action by SON, saying regulators should focus not only on removing substandard products from the market but also on ensuring that offenders face criminal consequences.
Onafowokan said Coleman had been forced to finance enforcement efforts and support legal proceedings to protect its brand, adding that such responsibility should ordinarily not rest on the manufacturer.
He expressed appreciation to the Inspector-General of Police and police formations involved in the case, saying the conviction had demonstrated that faking and adulterating cables was a crime that could be pursued through the justice system.
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