From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
A Federal High Court sitting in Kano has remanded one Mr. Taju Ayagi and a Kano-based business woman, Mrs. Stella Ogochukwu, for allegedly cloning and distributing products belonging to a Lagos-based company, Eva Complexion Care Soap Products.
The court, presided over by Justice Jude Kanyion Dagat, ordered the accused persons be remanded in prison until Thursday, December 7, 2017 for the hearing of their bail application.
The accused persons were arraigned by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for the illegal distribution of the unregistered products, which were found in their shops on or about October 24 and November 2, 2017.
The charge sheet disclosed that the accused persons had differently cloned and distributed Eva soap products, comprising of Gold, Ivory and Classic variants in a manner that is false, which constituted an offence against the Food, Drugs and Related Products (Registration) Acts.
The two accused traders pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them by the agency.
Following their plea, the prosecuting counsel, Barrister Umar Shamagi, prayed the court to fix a date for their trial, while appealing to the court to remand them in prison custody till the date of the trial.
Counsel to the defendants, Barrister Bashiru Mohammed, however, objected to his submission, asking the court to grant them bail.
In his ruling, the Dagat, ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody until the December 7, 2017.
While speaking to the media, Barrister Umar Shamagi warned against the influx of fake and substandard cosmetic products in various markets in the country, while urging the public to be wary of such cloned products.
He insisted that NAFDAC was totally committed to the fight against fake and sub-standard products in Nigeria.