• Business man’s application for stay struck out, says IGP’s lawyer

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alhaji Usman Baba Alkali to intervene in alleged injustice meted to one Madumere Ugochukwu, an Indigenous importer, based in Alaba market, Lagos, over AKT electric bulb.

Specifically, the rights group urged the IGP to direct his Deputy Inspector General of Police, Federal Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID), Mr. Johnson Babatunde Kokumo not to undermine an appeal instituted by Ugochukwu, against two Chinese citizens, Gaoxi Ong and Chen Xiao Ming over importation of AKT electric bulb. HURIWA through its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said it will storm the Chinese Embassy with a petition challenging the infractions committed by the Chinese Customs service against the Nigerian businessman, who reportedly has the authentic trademark to import the product, which are made in China. According to the group, Justice Taiwo Taiwo of a Federal High Court, Abuja (now retired), had issued an injunction ordering the confiscation of inferior brand of the products, allegedly imported into Nigeria by the Chinese nationals, which reportedly violated an extant trademark ownership of the indigenous importer. However, HURIWA said before the judge retired, he overturned his earlier injunction, which was immediately appealed by the businessman, but there is now a likelihood that the police that conducted background investigation found out that the Chinese businessmen allegedly forged trademark licence and are allegedly flooding Nigerian markets with fake products, and are now plotting to destroy the matter, which has reached the Court of Appeal.

HURIWA said it has already decided to also petition the foreign Affairs ministry to step into the matter, because the Chinese nationals used the China customs to destroy products meant for Alaba market from China under the verified trademark ownership of the Indigenous businessman, whose right to the distribution of the products in Nigerian markets has been sabotaged by the Chinese. According to the rights group, the action amounted to a brazen attempt by Chinese businessmen to adopt unfair tactics and to use law enforcement agents to continue to sabotage and compromise the trademark ownership of the indigenous businessman based in Alaba. In an Affidavit in support of motion for leave to file appeal against The Inspector General of Police, Gaoxi Ong and Chen Xiao marked: CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/80IMI/2022, obtained yesterday by The Guardian, the businessman stated that the IGP had directed that his petition should be investigated, which the Police did and found a large cache of those fake and inferior goods at 194, Marwa Close ljegun Water Site, Satellite Town, Lagos and lya Abiye Street, off Umani Crescent, Opposite Perfect Will of God Church, Navy Town, Lagos State.

According to him, the IGP then approached the court for ex-parte orders (1 directing the removal of the goods found at the above address and then the removal of the goods to another place, which is secure pending police investigation. (2) An Order sealing the premises where the goods had been removed for 90 days. The court, he added, made an order on April 27, 2022, unsealing the premises because the 90 days life span of the order to seal the premises had lapsed and the order had become spent. Confirming the case, counsel to the Inspector General of Police, Wisdom Madaki, who spoke to newsmen on phone, said he was not aware of the enforcement of the order secured by the Chinese against the businessman. He, however, said since the court struck out an application of stay filed by Mr. Madumere Ugochukwu at the lower court, there was nothing stopping the DIG from enforcement of pending appeal. On the petition to IGP against the action of DIG Kokumo, the counsel said, he was not aware, but that the DIG will act accordingly when he gets the petition.