By George Ozalla

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disclosed that it secured 64 convictions against counterfeiters between June 2025 and June 2026, while 7,210 suspected fake, falsified, substandard and non-compliant regulated products were removed from circulation during nationwide surveillance operations.

Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this on Monday in Lagos while briefing journalists on the agency’s enforcement activities and response to growing concerns over the proliferation of fake and unsafe products in Nigerian markets.

Adeyeye said the agency inspected 6,233 facilities across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory between May and July 2026, during which the affected products were mopped up from the market.

She said the surveillance covered food and water, drugs and herbal products, medical devices, vaccines and biologics, cosmetics, healthcare products and chemicals, adding that food and water accounted for the highest number of products removed from circulation.

According to her, 3,633 food and water products were recovered from 1,808 facilities, while 2,459 drugs and herbal products were removed from 2,084 facilities. She said about 80 per cent of NAFDAC’s post-market surveillance activities were directed at detecting and curbing fake, falsified, substandard and non-compliant products.

Adeyeye said the agency’s enforcement drive had also produced convictions, with offenders receiving prison sentences ranging from one to seven years without the option of a fine.

She listed among the cases convictions involving fake antibiotics, codeine-containing cough and cold syrups, counterfeit Global Fund Artemether, fake ointments and condoms, stressing that the agency would continue to pursue those involved in the manufacture, importation, distribution and sale of fake regulated products.

The NAFDAC boss described counterfeiters as “merchants of death” and said the agency would not relent in dismantling the networks responsible for producing and distributing dangerous products.

She recalled that coordinated raids carried out between February and March 2025 at Idumota Market in Lagos, Onitsha in Anambra State and Ariaria International Market in Aba, Abia State, resulted in the seizure and destruction of more than 137 40-foot truckloads of counterfeit and substandard products valued at over N1.5 trillion.

Adeyeye said the operation formed part of a wider enforcement campaign that had resulted in the seizure or destruction of counterfeit and substandard regulated products valued at more than N1.54 trillion since 2023.

She also disclosed that NAFDAC destroyed more than N15 billion worth of fake, expired, counterfeit and banned medicines in Ibadan, Oyo State, in February 2026. The products included Analgin, Co-codamol, codeine-containing syrups, Tramadol, Oxytocin and expired vaccines.

In another operation in Kuje, Abuja, the agency destroyed products valued at about N1.8 billion, including counterfeit medicines, banned sachet alcoholic beverages below 200ml, narcotics, antibiotics, antimalarials, counterfeit milk, skin-lightening creams, fake insecticides and medical devices.

The Director General further revealed that NAFDAC seized more than 10 million doses of counterfeit malaria medicines and cosmetics valued at about N3 billion at the Lagos Trade Fair Market in February 2026, leading to the arrest of four suspects.

She said five persons were also arrested in Abuja in June over counterfeit cosmetics valued at N35 million, while an operation in Nasarawa State uncovered a factory allegedly involved in packaging counterfeit rice, resulting in the seizure of more than 1,600 bags valued at N5 billion.

Adeyeye also raised concern over attempts by some operators to counterfeit established water brands. She disclosed that NAFDAC uncovered three companies involved in refilling empty 19-litre bottles bearing the identity of a registered water company with water obtained from unapproved sources.

The products, she said, were supplied to hotels and supermarkets without authorisation, adding that the companies involved had been sanctioned.

On the growing concerns over allegedly adulterated food products, including palm oil, fufu, fruits and other commonly consumed foods, the NAFDAC boss explained that the agency did not have exclusive regulatory control over all such products.

She said fresh agricultural produce such as apples, grapes and oranges falls within the quarantine responsibilities of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service, while traditionally packaged and unbranded products such as palm oil and fufu sold in open markets are not under NAFDAC’s direct and absolute regulatory control.

Adeyeye therefore called for stronger collaboration between NAFDAC, state governments and local authorities in tackling unsafe food products within the areas of shared responsibility.

She disclosed that NAFDAC received 225 complaints concerning suspected counterfeit products in August, reflecting the level of concern among Nigerians over fake and adulterated products. The agency, however, stressed that allegations made on social media cannot by themselves establish that a product is fake, adulterated or unsafe, insisting that scientific investigation and laboratory verification remained necessary.

The Director General urged Nigerians to report suspected fake and non-compliant products directly to NAFDAC rather than relying solely on social media reports, stressing that timely information from members of the public could assist the agency in identifying counterfeiters and removing dangerous products from circulation.

She said counterfeiters operate within communities, neighbourhoods and business premises, making public cooperation important to the success of enforcement operations.

Adeyeye also reiterated NAFDAC’s call for tougher punishment for those involved in the manufacture and distribution of fake regulated products, including stronger sanctions under the NAFDAC Act and the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs Act.

The agency said its enforcement activities would continue to combine market surveillance, laboratory testing, seizures, arrests, prosecution and destruction of confiscated products as part of efforts to protect Nigerians from dangerous foods, medicines, cosmetics and other regulated products.