A Federal High Court in Lagos has sentenced two convicts, Kingsley Meteke and John Uche to two years imprisonment over adulteration of engine oil.
The products were said to have failed to comply with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria’s Conformity Assessment Programme.
The men had pleaded guilty to the charge, but the other defendants, Olaide Shittu, and Abdulquadri Olayinka had pleaded not guilty.
The four men were arrested in 2019 and arraigned in March on a four count charge.
The prosecution said they adulterated 128 drums and 9.45 litres of engine oil, and indulged in its production which did not meet mandatory industrial standards.
The offences contravenes the provisions of sections 1(8) and 1(8)(II) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 2004
Following the guilty pleas of the ist and 3rd defendants, the prosecutor, Joseph Olofindare reviewed the facts of the case before the court, with additional evidence.
They included a white gallon containing quantities of the adulterated Engine oil and a video footage of the adulterated products with the defendants.
Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo queried the absence of the third defendant in the exhibit, and, convicted the two defendants.
Defence counsel Bola Kolawole in her allocutus, begged the court to show mercy on the convicts as they were first offenders who had been in custody since the date of their arrest.
Kingsley Meteke and John Uche were then handed a term of two years imprisonment to begin from the date of their arrest.
A date for trial of the other defendants is yet to be fixed.
The prosecution says the claims that the products were good for public consumption and for optimum engine performance, were false, as they failed to comply with SON’s Conformity Assessment Programme.
