THE Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) have formed a partnership to combat the country’s counterfeiting problem.
Malam Farouk Salim, the Director-General of the SON, during a sensitization event in Lagos warned that it would no longer be business as usual for purveyors of counterfeit and sub-standard items in the country.
Participants from the organized private sector as well as sister regulatory agencies attended the sensitization workshop, which had the theme “the use of crime record information management system as a tool to fight the influx of fake/sub-standard products and other related crimes in Nigeria”.
Salim, who was represented by Omolara Okunola, Director, SON’s Inspectorate and Compliance, said the partnership will help to reduce the high incidence of financial crimes, particularly the influx of counterfeit goods into the country.
He applauded the NFIU’s efforts to assist the standards body towards carrying out the agency’s statutory role effectively.
The director-general indicated that the agency would train its personnel on special applications in order to combat crime and eliminate counterfeit, fraudulent, and sub-standard products entering the country.
According to Modibbo HammahTukur, the NFIU’s Chief Executive Officer, who was represented by Bello Abdulhaziz, Senior Intelligence Analyst, NFIU, he revealed that, the influx of counterfeit and sub-standard products into the country would be regulated by efficient collaborative efforts and information sharing among relevant government authorities.
He added that the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) is in charge of receiving, requesting, analyzing, and disseminating financial intelligence reports on money laundering, terrorist financing, and other relevant information.
And this collaboration will assist SON in identifying suspicious products at the border for further investigation.
The sensitization workshop is expected to be held in other important cities including as Abuja, Kano, and Port-Harcourt for relevant SON staff,
