The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) is taking a strong stand against deceptive practices in business. Their enforcement team, led by Mrs. Boladale Adeyinka, has shut down five large textile warehouses in Kano. These closures are not due to cleanliness or tax issues, but because of scams involving misleading business practices and “shortened fabric materials.”
This refers to a common scam in Nigeria. For instance, when you buy 5 yards of ankara for a new boubou and take it to your tailor, you might get a frustrating call back saying, “Madam, this fabric… it’s not 5 yards. It’s 4 and a half. We can’t make the style.”
You’ve been cheated, your tailor is upset, your aso-ebi plans are ruined, and you feel powerless. This is more than just a small operation being shut down. It is a significant action targeting the heart of West Africa’s textile trade, and it’s a big deal.
The operation, which followed weeks of surveillance, found that these warehouses, located in major hubs like Gandun Abada and Ibrahim Taiwo Road, were the source of this widespread fraud. They were found to be selling fabrics that were “significantly shorter” than the measurements on their labels, a direct violation of consumer rights.
A report from The PUNCH quoted Mrs. Adeyinka explaining the scale of the fraud: “We discovered fabrics labelled as 10 yards actually measured 9, and those marked 5 yards were 4 or even less.” This is not a small mistake; it is a clear, intentional act of deception. The products affected were not unknown brands. They included some of the most popular fabrics on the market, such as:
- LGR
- U&Me
- Nana Tex
- V Levintus
- Mama Africa
- Hightex
- Jisiki fabrics
These are the everyday wrappers and ankara that thousands of traders and consumers buy. Mrs. Adeyinka noted that the warehouses were “filled to the brim” and that this deceptive trade circulates “billions of naira” monthly.
Why This Isn’t Just “Buyer Beware”
The FCCPC is enforcing a powerful, specific law. This isn’t just “bad business”; it’s illegal.
- The Law: The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018.
- Section 123(1): Makes it unlawful to make “false or misleading representations” about the quantity of goods.
- Section 125(1): Prohibits any “deceptive” conduct that misleads a consumer.
The FCCPC’s new boss, Tunji Bello, made it clear that this isn’t just about protecting the customer. It’s about protecting the entire market. In his statement, Bello explained that this scam “undermines honest traders” who actually sell the correct length. It “distorts competition” and “drives legitimate retailers out of business.”
If you’re an honest seller like Jijikay Fabrics trying to sell a real 5 yards, you can’t compete on price with a warehouse selling a fake 5 yards for cheaper. The scam poisons the well for everyone.
Why Kano?
Doing this in Kano is a massive symbolic move. Kano isn’t just a market; it is the market. It’s one of the oldest and largest commercial hubs in West Africa, with a centuries-old reputation for textiles. The Kantin Kwari market, for example, is the largest textile market on the continent.
By tackling this problem at the source, the distributors in Kano, the FCCPC is sending a shockwave through the entire national supply chain. As Mrs. Adeyinka clarified, “It’s not the tailor’s fault… When a consumer buys what is labeled as six yards and discovers it’s actually five, that’s outright deception. This must stop.”
This is a clear signal from the FCCPC: the era of the “3-and-a-half-yard lie” is over. They’re not just protecting your money; they’re restoring integrity to the very fabric of Nigerian commerce.
