A dispute that began at an Apple Store in London has set off a fierce debate over the authenticity of iPhones sold in Nigeria and exposed gaps in cross-border device verification and retail transparency.

Pastor Gbenga Samuel Wemimo of Gbenga Samuel Wemimo Ministries International (GSWMI) said he and his wife attempted to trade in a brand-new iPhone bought last September at an Apple-branded outlet in Jakande, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos at Apple?s Westfield Stratford City store in London.

According to the pastor?s account, the device was scanned and initially flagged as stolen and later marked missing in Apple?s systems; Apple staff declined the trade-in despite the couple presenting receipts and proof of purchase.

?Only God did not let them call the police on us,? Pastor Wemimo wrote in a post on X (formally Twitter) that has since been widely shared online.

The incident immediately reignited a broader question: are any Apple outlets in Nigeria official Apple Stores? Apple?s store locator for Nigeria directs customers to authorized resellers and service providers, not to corporate Apple retail stores, confirming that Apple does not operate company-owned retail outlets in the country.

Nigeria?s market, therefore, relies on authorised partners and distributors. Redington?s Apple dealer portal and local reseller sites list outlets such as iStore and iConnect among approved sellers, and Redington positions itself as the region?s value-added distributor guidance consumers often use to verify provenance. Several reseller pages publicly encourage customers to check verification options and to buy through listed, authorised channels.

Responding to Pastor Wemimo?s post, the Lekki outlet where the phone was reportedly purchased issued a direct reply to the customer and said in full: ?We take authenticity seriously. We are reviewing the matter and kindly request the device?s IMEI/Serial number and purchase receipt for prompt verification. We remain committed to transparency and genuine Apple product.?

The statement has been circulated in response threads as the store opened an internal review. Several customers also came forward online to say they had previously bought iPhones from the same Lekki shop and that their devices had later been verified as authentic overseas and these accounts complicate a straightforward condemnation of the outlet.

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity explained the episode exposes three recurring fault lines: first, the absence of corporate Apple stores means consumers depend on the integrity of reseller supply chains; second, cross-border databases and device-flagging systems are not always reconciled in real time; third, grey-market imports and post-sale reporting abuses can create false positives when devices are checked abroad.

While the Lekki outlet has asked for the phone?s IMEI/serial number and receipt, steps that could resolve the matter quickly, he warned that such reconciliations often require cooperation between retailers, distributors and global device registries.

The controversy followed amid mounting global concern over brand impersonation and device fraud. A Check Point Research report for Q2 2025 found Microsoft, Google and Apple were the three most impersonated brands in phishing campaigns, with Apple accounting for roughly nine percent of global phishing attempts, an indicator of how widely trusted tech brands are targeted by criminals.

Earlier, mobile-service and device technicians have urged regulators to strengthen point-of-sale controls. The Association of Mobile Communication Device Technicians of Nigeria (AMCODET) has repeatedly called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to mandate registration of phones at the point of purchase, arguing that compulsory IMEI capture would make it harder for thieves to resell stolen handsets. AMCODET?s president, Mr. Kehinde Apara, has publicly promoted registration as a theft-deterrent and a consumer-protection measure.

The NCC itself rolled out a national Device Management System (NCC-DMS) in September 2024, a Central Equipment Identity Register intended to synchronise device IMEIs with global blacklists and require mobile network operators to link their equipment registers under new Type Approval Business Rules. Regulators say the system will reduce the circulation of stolen or counterfeit devices, but critics argue enforcement and industry uptake remain works in progress.

Social media responses to the London episode were mixed. Some users argued the story proves that ?no Apple store in Nigeria is recognised by Apple itself,? while others cautioned against broad generalisations, pointing to isolated cases in other countries where devices bought legitimately were later flagged as stolen. Commentators also raised scenarios in which phones bought legally overseas are re-imported and then reported lost by original owners, creating tangled records that ensnare innocent buyers.

The case has also prompted attention to how policy disputes in other markets shape perceptions of ?official? availability. For example, Indonesia publicly rejected a $100 million investment proposal from Apple in 2024 as insufficient to lift a temporary ban on iPhone 16 sales, a dispute that highlighted how national rules and commercial negotiations can complicate consumers? sense of which channels are official.

For consumers, the practical lesson is straightforward: when buying high-value electronics in markets without Apple-run stores, insist on authorised channels, keep receipts and register device IMEIs where possible. Resellers and regional distributors publish guidance such as verification pages and store locators on Redington and reseller websites that buyers can use to confirm provenance before purchase.

As the Lekki outlet continues its review, its request for the phone?s IMEI and the receipts will be the crucial data points to either clear or confirm the device?s status.

The pastor?s London experience has heightened public scrutiny of the supply chain that feeds Nigeria?s thriving smartphone market and amplified calls for faster, more transparent cross-border device verification and stronger enforcement of national device-registration rules. (Daily Sun)

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