How Consumer Protection Council nailed Coca Cola -By Emmanuel Onwubiko

To the admiration of lovers of human rights and particularly consumer rights advocates, on Monday December 15th 2014, the Lagos-based Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Femi Falana, was quoted in the media to have written to the Coca Cola Company urging the management to comply with Nigeria’s local laws.

This nationalistic statement from the famous legal practitioner and human rights activist is timely given that the company has been indicted for producing substandard products in Nigeria and has gone full swing in hiring public relations practitioners to lavishly publish frivolous heartless articles in the Nigerian media seeking to run down the management of the Consumer Protection Council for mustering courage to confront this global brand.

There is currently a matter before the court against Coca Cola instituted by the CPC to compel the firm to comply with extant laws of the country. Nigerians expect firm determination of this matter so these multinational companies are made to pay greater respect to the local laws where they operate.

I have penned down articles to demonstrate my avowed support for the great services that the management of the Consumer Protection Council have kick-started to safeguard the lives of Nigerians. In the next couple of weeks I shall make the deliberate effort to bring to my readers the findings of a scientific investigation carried out by a team of experts who turned up damaging allegations against Coca Cola for which the CPC had directed that measures be put in place to correct the anomalies.

Excerpts from the executive summary of these findings are as follows; On 3rd September 2013, the Consumer Protection Council (the Council) received a complaint from a consumer, regarding two half-empty cans of “Sprite” purchased in Abuja, FCT. This complaint was against the backdrop of similar incidents regarding the quantity of consumable products produced and marketed by the Respondents. Intervention was necessary considering the Council’s public interest and regulatory role.

The scientific panel further affirmed that because of the public health and safety considerations, as well as the likelihood for recurrence, going by the number of consumer complaints, the Council undertook an initial internal deliberation and on 5th September 2013 issued a Notice of Complaint indicating its intention to commence investigation to Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited (Coca-Cola) and Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC).

The Council set up an investigate panel to conduct a substantive and comprehensive investigation of the Complaint and incidental issues. NBC responded to the Council’s Notice of Investigation, requesting an opportunity for two of its employees and an employee of Coca-Cola to inspect the cans of Sprite. Subsequently, the Council issued Summons dated 7th October 2013 on Coca-Cola and NBC. The first investigative meeting held on 22nd October 2013 is to ascertain the facts and circumstances surrounding the issues.

Prior to the investigation, there was reasonable cause to believe, upon physical examination of the half-empty cans of Sprite, that the cans of Sprite fell short of the standard. There were also suggestions that the cans of Sprite did not conform to ordinary standards of care and implied assurance and reasonable expectation that they are of the same average grade, quality and value as similar product sold under similar circumstances. Over the ensuing weeks, the content of the cans of Sprite continuously reduced gradually. Considering the wide coverage of Coca-Cola products, including Sprite, in Nigeria, the Council deemed the development occurring with the cans of Sprite a threat to public health, necessitating a thorough investigation as opposed to an isolated incident. The focus of the investigation was to determine the source of the apparently defective product; examine, as it affects Nigerian consumers, the operating standards for the production, bottling and marketing of Coca-Cola products in Nigeria; as well as examine the complaints and grievance resolution policy of Coca-Cola and NBC, among other things.