A Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State, has ordered the destruction of 1,600 tins of fake shoe polish seized from some markets in Onitsha.
The fake brand of Kiwi polish is valued at N42m
Justice I. B. Gafai who gave the order to destroy the products on Tuesday said they should be burnt.
The court also ordered the seizure of the property of the importers of the fake products and awarded N2m damages against them.
The counsel for Asco Investment, which is spearheading the fight against fake Kiwi polish in the state, Mr. Tagbo Anaeto, lamented the faking of genuine products describing it as “a great economic sabotage,” as it infringed on the trademark of registered owners of Kiwi products.
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According to him, the company will not relent in its efforts to rid Onitsha markets of fake Kiwi products.
Anaeto expressed satisfaction with the sanctions meted out against those behind the illegal importation of the fake products.
“We are also happy that the fake products are no longer as prevalent as they used to be as the people involved are beginning to realise that Asco Investment is unrelenting in fighting the fake Kiwi polish importers.
“It is only few people that still engage in it and we hope to completely wipe them out soon. In the past, majority of the Kiwi polish in Nigeria was fake, but through our efforts, the problem has reduced considerably,” he said.
