Turning bloody? CPC boss accuses Coca-Cola of trying to kill her

What is this battle with Coca-Cola turning into? The director-general, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs Dupe Atoki, has just accused the company of threatening to kill her. In a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, dated November 11, she asked for a thorough investigation into the threat to her life “by persons suspected to be in Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC).”

In the letter referenced CPC/HQ/588/Vol.II, Atoki explained that her crime seemed to be  that in accordance with the CPC’s mandate, the council launched an investigation into complaints of defective products of Coca Cola bottled by the Nigeria Bottling Company. According to her, one of such complaints had to do with two half-filled cans of sprite and a substantiated allegation of product defect and violation of CPC Act.

She said that the CPC ordered that: the two companies subject their manufacturing process to the Council over a period of 12 months, formulate a shelf life policy to facilitate removal of their expired products from the market, review their traceability policy to make it easier for the companies to track their products and payment of cost of investigation and compensation to the aggrieved party.

Leadership reports that "On the heels of these orders, the DG said, “At a meeting held in June 2014, and attended by myself, Amb. Apata, an NBC Board member, and CPC legal adviser, Amb. Apata threatened that he had connections in high places to call me to order”.

Many have held that this is just a pointer to the fact that these multinationals are too powerful to be called to order in spite of their flagrant abuse of hapless Nigerian consumers from whom they reap huge profits.

What do you think?
Cocacola photo art credit: zombiesoup.net