The Lagos State Government, through the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA), has issued a comprehensive public advisory directing residents to report online merchants who deliver substandard, defective, or incorrect items that diverge from advertised descriptions.
In an official regulatory notice released on Monday, the General Manager of LASCOPA, Afolabi Solebo, urged consumers to actively file complaints against fraudulent e-commerce practices. The agency identified actionable infractions to include deceptive product deliveries, sales of counterfeit or expired merchandise, hidden charges, misleading promotional discounts, and persistent refusals by merchants to honour legitimate refund requests, product exchanges, or warranty commitments.
The consumer directive is anchored on the provisions of the Lagos State Consumer Protection Law alongside the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act.
The state government warned that businesses, physical outlets, and online vendors that refuse to honour invitations or fail to attend mandated mediation sessions organised to resolve verified consumer disputes risk immediate regulatory sanctions, including the sealing of physical premises and legal prosecution.
LASCOPA advised affected shoppers to move beyond social media call-outs and lodge formal petitions supported by transaction proof, including receipts, digital invoices, order screenshots, and photographic or video evidence of the defective items delivered. Complaints can be filed directly through the agency’s dedicated toll-free line or designated official administrative channels to initiate statutory mediation and redress.
