A Nigerian woman, Chioma Okoli has regained her freedom after she was arrested for alleging that a tomato paste she bought in a market tasted sugary.
The paste, Nagiko Tomato mix is a product of Erisco Foods Limited, Lagos.
Okoli claimed in a post on her Facebook page on 17 September.
According to her, she had gone to the market on 16 September intending to buy Gino or Sonia brand of tomato paste but could not find them.
As a result of her inability to find her desired paste, she later bought the Nagiko tomato mix which she had planned to use in making stew.
“When I opened it, I decided to taste it, Omo! Sugar is just too much!” she wrote.
She called on other Facebook users to confirm if they had used the product before, apparently to ascertain if they had similar experiences.
After her claim went viral, Okoli was picked up last Sunday by police operatives in Lagos State and was reportedly transferred to the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Her arrest was instigated by the manufacturer of the tomato paste, Erisco Foods Limited, who accused her of intentionally making the post “to mislead our esteemed customers and discredit” the company’s image.
In the latest update on the case, the Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Babatunde Irukera announced that Okoli had been released on bail by the police.
“Further Update: Ms Chioma has been released on bail. Mutual commitments by both parties before the police,” Irukera wrote on his X handle.
He said although the FCCPC was not a party to the commitments, the commission would continue investigation into the incident.
“Grateful for restoration of Ms Egodi’s liberty, but determined to ensure we never walk this path again,” the FCCPC chief wrote in another post on the microblogging site, minutes later.
“Criminality in commerce is an exception. Our society cannot endure under the threat or fear that fair expressions, when properly so, can become the subject of law enforcement,” he added.
