On Friday, two men appeared in a Magistrates’ Court in Ikeja, Lagos State, facing allegations of importing counterfeit condoms. Emeka Daniel, age 33, and Ugochukwu Eze, age 35, were charged with conspiracy, forgery, and obstructing justice, to which they both pleaded not guilty. Prosecutor SP Josephine Ikhayere stated that the alleged crimes took place on June 23 in the Lagos jurisdiction. She claimed the defendants, along with others who remain at large, brought counterfeit Kiss condoms—available in small and large sizes—into the country and sold them, disregarding the potential harm to consumers. The prosecutor also accused them of obstructing justice by aiding in the evasion of the co-importer and vendor of these condoms. Ikhayere noted that the charges violate sections 97(1), 362, and 412 of the Lagos State Criminal Law of 2015, which carries a penalty of three years for forgery and two years for obstructing justice. Magistrate Mr. Lafeef A. Owolabi granted bail to the defendants set at N500,000 and required them to present two reliable sureties for the same amount. The case was scheduled to be mentioned again on August 21.
