The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) says it is reviewing its act to ensure peddlers of life-threatening materials are jailed and not fined.

The director-general of SON, Farouk Salim, said this on Thursday in Lagos during the destruction of materials seized by the organisation.

Mr Salim said the peddlers are economic saboteurs that kill industries and people who innocently buy the products.

“In the last National Assembly, we went to them to review our act to ensure that peddlers of life-threatening materials are jailed and not just fined.

“They have passed the law but unfortunately did not get the opportunity for the president to sign it into law.

“So, it is back in the National Assembly, and hopefully very soon, it will be with the president,” he said. 

He expressed optimism that the president would sign the amendment to ensure peddlers are jailed when caught. 

The SON boss said some of the products to be destroyed are by the court’s orders.

Mr Salim said the agency also seized some tyres, which were not fit for use, while some were new but stuffed with other used ones.

He pointed out that the Nigerian cable industry is successful and helps the organisation to identify the fake ones.

Mr Salim said that SON sometimes uses their intelligence to fish out the people because their activities affect the country’s economy.

On the value of the products, the SON director general said that it ran into billions of naira, adding that they would keep seizing the products to force the perpetrators to stop.

(NAN)