Two businessmen, Afam Ike and Steve Onyechi, found themselves in front of Justice Friday Ogazi at the Federal High Court in Lagos, as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) brought forth charges against them on Wednesday.
The accusations revolve around their alleged involvement in the repackaging and sale of counterfeit X-Pression hair attachments.
Yusuf Lawan, the prosecuting counsel from the Federal Ministry of Justice, accused the defendants, both traders at Balogun Market, Lagos Island, of conspiring to repackage and sell counterfeit ‘Rich Braid’ brand of X-Pression products. The arrest of Ike and Onyechi occurred on December 2, 2022, following the seizure of fake X-Pression attachments bearing false trademarks.
The prosecution argued that the defendants’ actions were aimed at deceiving buyers into believing that the counterfeit products were genuine, thereby violating various sections of the Criminal Code Act, 2004, and the Trade Malpractices (Miscellaneous Offences) Act, 2004.
Despite pleading not guilty, Ike and Onyechi were remanded at the Ikoyi Correction Centre, following the request of Yusuf for a trial date. The defense counsel, Inoegbunan and Okoli, requested time to file bail applications, which led Justice Ogazi to adjourn the hearing until Thursday to consider the bail applications.
