The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has sealed five textile warehouses in Kano State for allegedly engaging in deceptive trade practices involving the sale of underweight and shortened fabric materials to unsuspecting consumers.
Speaking during an enforcement operation on Wednesday in Kano, the commission’s Executive Vice-Chairman, Mr. Tunji Bello, represented by the Director of Surveillance and Investigations, Boladale Adeyinka, disclosed that the exercise followed weeks of discreet market surveillance and intelligence gathering.
“The enforcement carried out today is in response to verified intelligence on infractions against the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act.
“We discovered fabrics labelled as 10 yards measuring only nine yards, and five-yard materials measuring less than 4½ yards,” she said.
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According to her, the retailers sold the shortened fabrics at full prices, thereby defrauding consumers and violating multiple sections of the FCCPA 2018.
She cited Sections 123(1) and 125(1) of the Act, which prohibit misleading or deceptive representations in trade, including false claims about the quantity or price of goods.
Adeyinka explained that such practices not only exploit consumers but also distort the market by undermining honest traders and promoting anti-competitive behavior, an act that can drive legitimate retailers out of business, reducing consumer choice and fair competition.
“The textile products involved in the sharp practices include LGR Product, U&Me Product, Nana Tex Product, V Levintus Product and Mama Africa Product, Hightex Product, UE Product, S-U Velt Product, and Jisiki Product.
“Investigations revealed that the products were imported, marketed, distributed, advertised, and warehoused at Nos 238, 249, 313, 315, 413, and 428 Gandun Albasa Layout; Nos 38 & 40 Ibrahim Taiwo Road; No 87 Bua Rice Mills Street; Links I, II & III Ajasa Inuwa Wada Road and No 287 Gandun Albasa New layout in Kano city,” she stated
She, however, noted that the commission has sealed the implicated premises and confiscated samples of the fabrics for further measurement and quality verification.
While reaffirming the commission’s commitment to safeguarding consumer rights and ensuring a fair marketplace, the enforcement officer maintained that the sale of under-measured materials constitutes deceptive misrepresentation and breaches consumers’ right to fair and honest dealings.
She, however, urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and report suspected cases of deceptive trade practices through its official complaint channels, assuring that it would continue to deploy lawful enforcement measures to deter fraudulent business practices across the country.
