A Magistrate Court sitting in the Ojodu Abiodun Magisterial District of Ogun State has sentenced Samson Okonkwo, a businessman, to jail with hard labour without an option of fine for selling counterfeit Coleman wires and cables.
Magistrate O.P. Mobee handed down the sentence on September 24, 2026, in Charge No. MOJ/138C/2025 between the Commissioner of Police and Okonkwo.
Okonkwo was arraigned on April 10, 2025, on a four-count charge, including conspiracy to forge Coleman wires and cable products, unlawful possession of forged products and selling of products bearing forged Coleman marks.
According to the judgment, 317 coils of cables bearing Coleman wraps and labels were recovered from the defendant. The prosecution told the court that tests and physical comparisons showed that the cables did not originate from Coleman Technical Industries Limited.
The court heard that while the recovered cables were marked as 2kg products, one of the seized cables weighed 1.2kg, compared with 2kg for a genuine product brought from the Coleman factory. The prosecution also demonstrated differences in the copper content and other identifying features.
In his defence, Okonkwo, who resides at 5 Oderinde Street, Akute, Ogun State, said he had been trading in electrical items for 20 years. He told the court that he bought the cables from Alaba Market and had receipts for the purchases, which he tendered as exhibits.
The court, however, held that the prosecution had established the counterfeit nature of the products and that the defendant’s defence did not satisfactorily rebut the direct evidence presented.
In sentencing the defendant, the court considered his status as a first-time offender, family man and breadwinner, but noted the dangers associated with counterfeit electrical cables, including cable sparks, electrical fires and electrocution.
Magistrate Mobee said the punishment was intended to serve the purposes of retribution, deterrence and protection of society.
The court consequently sentenced Okonkwo to imprisonment with hard labour, without an option of fine.
