The Nation Newspaper

Tag: fake

  • Fayose disowns ‘fake’

    Fayose disowns ‘fake’

    Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has disowned the spurious Facebook messages and exchanges being ascribed to him.

    His Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, in a statement, alleged that fraudsters were operating the fake accounts in the governor’s name to dupe the public.

    Olayinka warned the public against falling victim, saying money was being demanded by the operators of the fake Facebook page with promises of government contracts.

    The statement reads: “It has come to our notice that some Facebook accounts have been opened by some fraudsters in the name of Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose. The accounts are being used to dupe the unsuspecting public.

    “Last week, we alerted the public to a certain Dr A.U Richard with phone number, 08162404959, who is among the operators of the fake Facebook accounts.

    “As at today, the fraudsters are yet to desist from their nefarious activities and we wish to warn the public not to relate with anyone, claiming to be Governor Ayodele Fayose on Facebook.

    “Already, we have contacted Facebook management on the fraud and anyone who does business with these fraudsters does so at his or her own risk.

    “Do not be gullible.  Do not fall victim to fraudsters. Governor Fayose does not have any Facebook account.”

  • Pharmacists urge action against quacks, fake drugs

    Pharmacists urge action against quacks, fake drugs

    The ‘Pharmacy Week’ organised by the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Rivers State branch ended its Pharmacy week with a call to place the issue of pharmaceutical care of Nigerians in the front burner of national policy in order for patients to get the best.

    The programme which has as its theme“Better Health Care Outcome through Pharmaceutical Care” gave pharmacists and other health workers the opportunity to know how to achieve better health outcomes.

    The weeklong event started with a thanksgiving service at St. Paul African Church, Port Harcourt. There was also a walk against Ebola from Rumuokuta to Ada-George, during which hand sanitisers were freely distributed to people.

    The pharmacists also visited Aboloma axis of Port Harcourt to give free drugs to the residence after screening them for HIV/AIDS, diabetes, high blood pressure and other ailments.

    At the opening ceremony, which took place at Hotel Presidential, the chairman of the occasion, His Royal Majesty, King Alfred Diette Spiff, the former governor of old Rivers State, thanked the society for its contribution to humanity and urged them to continue to play an important role in the administration and development of the health sector.

    The chairman of Rivers chapter of PSN, Chukunda Godson, said the greatest challenge confronting genuine pharmacy practice is the menace of quack pharmacists. He said the organisation cannot fight the issue of quacks alone but pharmacists have to be particularly knowledgeable enough to be able to identify and isolate nonprofessionals in their midst.

    “These people are agent of destruction, they are evil and they want to take over the society that is the more reason why everybody must be involve in the fight against quacks.

    “The major stakeholder in the health sector, pharmacists in community practice, hospitals, academia, industry, administration and other areas of the Nigerian economy, are continuously involved in the delivery of quality service in line with the ethics of the profession.

    “Our professional and social responsibilities remain sacrosanct in the numerous activities we engage in including safe drug use campaigns, education and enlightenment programmes on the prevention and management of diseases (HIV/AIDS and Ebola inclusive) and free health outreach missions to rural communities.

    While commending Governor Rotimi Amaechi for donating a bus to PSN, a gesture, which, he said, ameliorated their transport challenges, he noted the state remains the only state in the federation whose task force on fake and counterfeit products and illegal premises still operated with hired buses, adding: “This situation does not speak well for us. Our people are at risk of these fake and counterfeit products if the task force is not sufficiently mobilised for effectiveness and efficiency.”

    He also highlighted the hindrances preventing the organisation from reaching out to more communities during Pharmacy Week, saying: “The human and material demands of these programmes are usually enormous. The major constraints in our desire to reach out to more communities and towns in the state have been finance and logistics.”

     

  • Fake soldier in police net

    Fake soldier in police net

    A fake soldier, Mohammed Usman, was among suspects paraded yesterday by the police in Kogi State.

    According to the police, Usman, dressed in military uniform, had been extorting money and collecting wares from traders in the name of “his boss”.

    The 32-year old father of three said he got the uniform from a friend, but denied using it to intimidate people.

    Usman said: “I got the uniform from a soldier friend. I never stole in my life. I use the uniform to snap pictures. They came to arrest me in my house. The policemen that arrested me are my friends. They come to my house; we eat and drink, but they arrested me for impersonation because they saw Army uniform in my house.”

    Also paraded were Hinmikalu Joseph (35) and Michael Ogule Babatunde (26), who allegedly prepared Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

    Olawumi Awe, Sunday Owa and Sule Kolo were paraded for allegedly operating an illegal arms factory.

    Items recovered from them included two AK 47 rifles, 19 locally-made single barrel guns, five wooden rifle butts, 26 new cut-to-size barrel pipes, two vehicles and military gears.

    Commissioner of Police Paul Okafor warned criminals to stay away from the state.

    He said over 20 suspects were in police net for various offences.

  • Nigeria now haven for fake products

    SIR; Over the weekend, I used three different samples of wire cables to conduct an experiment after the loss of my electric pressing iron and a socket. My electric socket (Royal Quest England) of 220-240V was used to connect my pressing iron of equal voltage, 220-240V. Instantly, the cable blew and damaged the socket. I bought another socket of the same capacity but this time with electric iron of low capacity. This time, the cable rather than blow off simply melted like a candle which showed that the supposed 220-240V socket is not up to 120V.

    Apart from wiring cables, most electric bulbs in our market today are also fake. I live in an area where electricity supply is intermittent but I change my electric bulbs after every five weeks. While two of the six bulbs I bought seven months ago are still working, I have been changing the remaining four routinely. I bought them from the same place, at the same amount and the seller confirmed to me that they are the best bulbs I can get from the market now.

    Three days ago, a cousin of mine lost his home to inferno which emanated from an electric bulb socket. Such tragedies are not rampant in the country only because of irregular supply of electricity.

    Apart from wiring cables and bulbs, a good number of the stabilizers, Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), air conditioner, switches, electric cooking stove, pressing iron and many other electrical materials being sold in the market today are fake.

    The same is no less true of auto spare parts in the Nigerian market and building materials. As for the tragic incident at the Synagogue Guest House where over 80 persons were reported killed, I would not put the tragic situation beyond the use of fake or substandard materials.

    It is estimated that Nigeria loses over N50 billion to fake and substandard products annually and out of this amount, N20 billion comes from auto spare parts sector alone. Research has shown that 60% of these fake products come from the Peoples Republic of China but the Chinese in turn blame the situation on Nigerian entrepreneurs who go to China and ask the manufacturers to produce for them at reduced quality in order to shore up their profit margins.

    Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) whose job is to rid Nigeria of free of fake and adulterated products appear to have surrendered to the cartel of fake products importers, unfortunately for an agency that has been around for 42 years. SON, with only two laboratories in Lagos and Enugu where products could be subjected to laboratory analysis, has proven that they lack capacity to effectively check the menace. In many instances, product samples are said to be taken to Ghana for laboratory analysis. Apart from this technical incapacitation, SON lacks laboratory analysts and chemists as its workforce is dominated by clerical cadre.

    One recalls with nostalgia the days of National Agency for Food and drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) under the leadership of late Prof Dora Akunyili. The activities of the agency were practical, result-oriented and purposeful. These were the times when you saw hawkers run helter-skelter at the sight of NAFDAC officials. Today, NAFDAC activities are only showed on a paid TV advert and newspapers.

    No matter any indices used, an economy where more than 80% of products in circulation are fake cannot make progress. The situation is biting hard on ordinary Nigerians whose small incomes are spent on products that do not last beyond second use.  One begin to wonder if Nigeria has become a permanent safe haven for counterfeit products as the activities of the manufacturers and dealers of fake products go unchecked.

     

    •Onogwu Isah Muhammed,

    Lokoja, Kogi State.

  • NYSC rejects 281 fake Corps members

    NYSC rejects 281 fake Corps members

    Two hundred and eighty one fake youth corps members were sent back at the orientation camp for the Batch ‘B’ 2014/2015 in Niger State, the Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Mr. Steven Ehoda-adi, has said.

    Two hundred and thirty female corps members, mostly expectant and nursing mothers, were exempted from taking part in the normal routine during the two weeks orientation.

    Ehoda-adi spoke yesterday to reporters after the closing ceremony of the orientation course in Paiko.

    He said the fake corps members had no call-up letters.

    According to him, most of the affected persons claimed that they lost their letters to armed robbers on their way to the camp, while others said they misplaced their letters.

    Ehoda-adi also said corps members with photocopies of the letters were turned back, “as the scheme does not accept such.”

    He said the 230 female corps members were not allowed to take part in the normal routine during the orientation on health grounds.

    Over 3,250 corps members yesterday completed their orientation.

    Niger State Governor Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, while closing the camp, told the corps members that the unity of the country was not negotiable.

    He said: “The activities of the dreaded Boko Haram will further strengthen our unity.”

    Aliyu said their activities would soon be brought to an end.

  • Fake DSS operative returns to Osogbo court Sept 12

    Fake DSS operative returns to Osogbo court Sept 12

    •Ex-Ilesa West council chair arraigned

    The charge of impersonation against a young man, Victor Aladegbolu, will come before an Osogbo Magistrate’s Court for hearing on September 12.

    Aladegbolu, 22, was accused of parading himself as an operative of the Department of State Security (DSS) during the last Osun State governorship poll.

    The court, last week, ordered that the accused person be remanded in Ilesa prison custody till the adjourned date.

    The prosecutor, Mr. Biodun Badiora, told the court that the accused person conspired with others now at large to commit the offence on August 9, 2014 at about 12:00 p.m at City Hall, Ile-Ife.

    Badiora said the accused person, with others, was caught wearing a T-shirt with an inscription of Police logo in the front and DSS at the back, claiming to be DSS officers.

    He was apprehended by police officers.

    He alleged that the accused person disrupted the conduct of the August 9 election in Ile-Ife and its environs.

    He said the offence committed by the accused person was contrary to and punishable under Sections 517 and 109 of the Criminal Code Cap 34, Vol.11 Laws of Osun State, 2003.

    Badiora, announcing his appearance, said the state’s Attorney General was taking over the matter from the police to ensure diligent prosecution.

    Defence counsel Nnenna Ngwu did not object to the application by the state to take over prosecution.

    She said the court had been saved the rigour of stretched trial with the suspect pleading guilty to the two-count charges against him.

    The Magistrate, Mr. Olusola Aluko, who rejected the bail application for the suspect, urged defence counsel to apply for bail formally.

    He also ordered that the accused person be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the matter

    Aladegbolu, who was initially held in police custody before the poll, was released and later re-arrested.

    Both the state government and the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had before and during the election raised the alarm over the presence of hoodlums impersonating men of the Nigerian Army, the Police, DSS and other security agencies.

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, last Wednesday, said  the election was nearly rigged and condemned the presence of hooded security agents.

    Also arraigned by the police was a former Chairman of Ilesa West Local Government, Mr. Ibukun Fadipe, who allegedly attacked APC members.

    Fadipe was last Thursday arraigned over a case of attack on some people in Ilesa in 2009.

    The former chairman, who appeared before Chief Magistrate A.O. Ijiyode, was accused of assaulting Alhaja Mulikat Odeyemi and others as well as damaging the speakers and engine of Isokun Social Elite Club in Ilesa on May 28, 2009.

    The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    The defence counsel, Oluwaseun Ajoba, urged the court to dismiss the case as all the complainants who were victims of the assault were in court, saying they had withdrawn the case.

    The prosecuting counsel, Promise Akanwa, opposed the move as he said the proper procedure was for the counsel to apply for bail.

    After much argument, counsel to the accused pleaded for bail, Fadipe could not jump bail as he was an immediate past council chairman.

    Ajoba argued that all the complainants, who were direct victims of the alleged assault, could stand as surety for the accused.

    The Chief Magistrate thereafter granted the accused bail in the sum of N500, 000 and two sureties, who must be residents in Ilesa.

  • Proliferation of fake phones worries Samsung

    Proliferation of fake phones worries Samsung

    Samsung Electronics West Africa has expressed dismay at the rate which mobile phones are being counterfeited in the country, lamenting that it has robbed many of their money and caused them trauma.

    Its Director, Information Technology & Mobile Division, Emmanouil Revmatas, said the firm is taking a multi-pronged approach to address the problem.

    Revmatas, who spoke on the sideline during the launch of Samsung biometric scanner enabled Galaxy Tab S in Lagos, said the firm was working with trade associations to find ways to protect the customers by way of “legitimising the business on the one hand and also working with the dealers to buy legitimate products.”

    He said: “We will also intensify our campaigns to get the customers educated that there are ways of checking their mobile phones before paying for them through checking the IMEI number. We are also working with the various agencies of government. It is a multi-faceted approach. The people engaged in this illicit business continue to be relentless.”

    He said the new flagship tablet, the Galaxy Tab S, is available in the country, adding that the Galaxy Tab S combines an advanced high definition display technology with a full range of premium content, aimed at providing consumers with an unrivalled entertainment experience.

    He explained that the Galaxy Tab S is Samsung’s thinnest and lightest tablet which features a 10.5-inch screen alongside the most advanced super-AMOLED display with a resolution that is twice the high-definition standard associated with other devices in its category. It is also powered with enhanced productivity features for effortless multitasking, all elegantly housed in a beautifully crafted premium design.

    Its Managing Director, Mr. Brovo Kim, said the device will redefine how technology innovation enhances the quality of life.

  • ‘Omisore, PDP circulating fake survey result’

    ‘Omisore, PDP circulating fake survey result’

    The Director of Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of Osun State Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, has debunked an alleged falsehood being spread by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Iyiola Omisore, on a purported poll survey.

    Okanlawon, in a statement yesterday, said the PDP and Omisore claimed that a survey conducted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) put him ahead of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

    He alleged that a short message being circulated on telephones and the social media claimed that the USAID had conducted a pre-election survey which favours Omisore.

    He said: “The latest claim coming from the PDP represents another fraudulent claim aimed at gaining undeserved advantage.

    “The short message reads thus: USAID opinion poll conducted across the state between 12-21, July put your honour ahead PDP, 58/ APC 42. Such poll may have 2 or 3 error margin.”

    Okanlawon described the alleged poll result as “the manifestation of the falsehood for which the PDP and its candidate are well noted.”

  • Fraudsters held with fake $200m

    The police have arrested four suspected fraudsters with fake $200 million.

    The suspects were arrested in their shrine at Ajeromi community off Railway line in Badia, Ijora, a Lagos suburb, following a tip-off.

    The police also recovered charms and amulets from them.

    According to the police, a victim report on how the suspects swindled him of a huge sum of money, including mobile phones.

    Sources said following the victim’s report, the Area ‘B’ Commander, Innocent Ndubueze Anene, an Assistant Commissioner (ACP), worked out a plan on how to arrest the suspects in their den.

    A source said the victim was duped last Sunday, adding that the police began to trail the suspects the following day.

    It was gathered that the suspects have duped many people of large sums of money.

  • Day of reckoning for fakers

    Day of reckoning for fakers

    As part of its commitment to sanitize markets and ensure that consumers of various consumables were protected from adulterated products, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Aba Zone recently embarked on product inspection at Eziukwu Market, Aba Abia State where they uncovered a parking store used by an unidentified person(s) as a production and packaging factory for assorted kinds of fake beverage drinks.

    They also uncovered and sealed off other stores in the market that were used to store some of the adulterated products by perpetrators who were currently at large.

    NAFDAC officials who came in company of police officers also arrested two persons suspected to be part of the unlawful business in the market.

    Though some of the traders around the said location of the lockup shops denied knowledge of such act being carried out in the area, it was gathered that the raid was carried by NAFDAC officials after a tip off revealed that such an illicit activity has been going on in the market for a long time and as a result, putting the lives of beverage consumers to risk owing to the health hazards associated with the consumption of adulterated drinks by unsuspecting members of the public.

    Nation learnt that two male suspects arrested in the raid were later handed over to the police for continued investigation and explanation over their role in the business.

    A NAFDAC official who spoke anonymously said that the suspects would be released or charged to court depending on police investigation into the matter.

    According to the food agency staff, “Before the raid, a trader which I will not tell you her name for security reasons was arrested in Akwa Ibom State for dealing on a particular adulterated drink. The dealer denied that she didn’t know that the drink was adulterated, but however disclosed that they were supplied to them in Akwa Ibom by another dealer from Aba.

    Based on that arrest and revelation, we dispatched our intelligent officers into the market who did well by spotting out some of the shops were that particular drink was sold. It was after they concluded their investigation and the outcome corroborating the woman’s claim that we now decided to raid the market.

    I would say the operation was more than successful as we in the process, discovered a parking store used by this unscrupulous element to brew, cock and push the adulterated products into the market for unsuspecting members of the public to buy.

    We equally discovered and sealed off some other parking stores where other brands of alcoholic drinks were parked with the intent to sell to the public”, adding that NAFDAC “is committed to ensure that packaged foods and drinks in our markets are safe for consumption by the general public and will not fold its hands to watch few individuals endangering the lives of millions Nigerians because of their selfish interest”.

    The source said that the agency will make sure that the owners of shops where the drinks were found would be punished accordingly through the provisions of the law prohibiting storing and selling of fake and adulterated products.