Following the directive by President Bola Tinubu to security agents to tackle factors responsible for food crisis in the country by clamping down on hoarders and speculators, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has sealed off a well-known supermarket in the Area 11 Garki area of Abuja on Friday.
The management of Sahad Store Supermarket was accused of shortchanging customers by charging prices other than the official price tag on their shelves.
The FCCPC enforcement team was led by Acting Executive Vice Chairman of the agency, Adamu Ahmed Abdullahi.
Briefing journalists thereafter, Abdullahi said the commission’s preliminary investigation confirmed that the owners of the supermarket were short-changing customers.
He said the store would remain sealed until the completion of the further investigation.
“What we have found out that these people are doing is misleading pricing and lack of transparency in the pricing, which is against Section 115 (3) of the law that says a consumer is not required to pay a price for any good or service higher than the one that’s on display.
“Section 155 states that any corporate person that contravenes is liable to a fine of 100 million naira or even more and the directors of the company themselves are liable upon conviction payment of 10 million naira each or imprisonment of six months or both.
“What we have done today is to make sure that they comply with the law. We initially called them to come and defend themselves, but failed to show up. In the long run, they sent a lawyer whom we asked if he was familiar with the facts of the case. He said he wasn’t.
“To unseal the store, they have to make sure that they do what is required to be done,” FCCPC boss stated.
This comes after the Federal Government in collaboration with state governors agreed to set up a committee to tackle the issue of hoarding of produce and other essential commodities in the country following unprecedented prevailing food inflation.