Compliance Failure: Experts Demand Tougher Penalties for Substandard Cable Makers

Experts have demanded tougher sanctions against manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit and substandard electrical cables, warning that weak enforcement is putting lives, property and Nigeria’s electrical infrastructure at risk.

The call came during a media tour of Coleman Technical Industries’ factories in Sagamu, Ogun State, where the company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, George Onafowokan, urged the Federal Government and National Assembly to strengthen the legal framework governing electrical products.

Onafowokan called for tougher action by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), arguing that the seizure and destruction of substandard cables are insufficient if offenders are not prosecuted.

According to him, manufacturers and distributors who deliberately breach product standards must face penalties strong enough to make non-compliance commercially unattractive.

The industry executive warned that counterfeit cables can contain significantly less copper and other inferior materials while being sold at prices close to those of compliant products. Such products, he said, increase the risk of electrical faults and fires.

He also urged closer cooperation among SON, law-enforcement agencies and legitimate manufacturers to identify offenders, strengthen market surveillance and ensure that violations result in prosecution.

Coleman said it has supported investigations into suspected adulterated cables, including laboratory testing and collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force.

The experts stressed that effective compliance enforcement must go beyond product seizures to include traceability, prosecution and meaningful penalties.

They also called on government to protect compliant local manufacturers from unfair competition by intensifying action against counterfeiters.

For consumers, the message is clear: substandard electrical products are not merely a market-quality problem—they are a public-safety and regulatory-compliance threat.