Follow Us on Google
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has removed 7,210 suspected fake, falsified, substandard and non-compliant products from circulation in a nationwide crackdown, amid growing public concern over adulterated food, drugs and other consumer products.
The agency also disclosed that 64 counterfeiters had been convicted across the country, with some receiving jail terms of up to seven years without the option of a fine.
Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this at a press briefing in Lagos, yesterday, where she also rejected calls for her resignation, describing them as part of resistance to reforms she had pursued at the agency.
Adeyeye was responding to a newspaper publication at the weekend and concerns over suspected adulteration of yoghurt, palm oil, fruits, soy sauce, olive oil, chicken, fish, water and beverages.
She said NAFDAC took reports of potentially harmful products seriously but cautioned that allegations circulating on social media could not, on their own, establish that a product was fake, adulterated or unsafe.
Scientific investigation and laboratory testing, she said, remained necessary to establish the safety and authenticity of regulated products.
Giving details of NAFDAC’s enforcement activities, Adeyeye said its routine and proactive post-market surveillance between May and July 2026 covered all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
During the period, officials visited 6,233 facilities and mopped up 7,210 products spanning food and water, drugs and herbal products, medical devices, vaccines and biologics, cosmetics and chemicals.
“Food and water accounted for the highest number of products removed from circulation, with 3,633, followed by drugs and herbals with 2,459. Drugs and herbals recorded the highest number of facilities visited at 2,084, while food and water followed with 1,808,” she said.
Adeyeye said about 80 per cent of NAFDAC’s post-market surveillance activities were devoted to detecting and curbing fake, falsified, substandard and non-compliant products.
She described counterfeiters as “merchants of death,” saying the agency’s operations were intended not only to seize dangerous products but also to disrupt the supply chains behind them.
According to her, the 64 convictions secured by the agency involved offences relating to fake antibiotics, codeine-containing cough and cold syrups, counterfeit Global Fund Artemether, fake ointments and condoms.
She said sentences ranged from one to seven years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine.
Other News
Adeyeye recalled that coordinated raids on Idumota in Lagos, Onitsha in Anambra and Ariaria Market in Aba, Abia State, between February and March 2025 resulted in the seizure and destruction of more than 137 40-foot truckloads of counterfeit and substandard products valued at over N1.5 trillion.
In February 2026, she said, more than 10 million doses of counterfeit malaria medicines and cosmetics valued at about N3 billion were seized at the Lagos Trade Fair Market, with four suspects arrested.
Five persons were also arrested in Abuja in June over counterfeit cosmetics valued at N35 million, while another operation in Nasarawa uncovered a factory allegedly packaging counterfeit rice.
More than 1,600 bags valued at N5 billion were seized.
NAFDAC also raised concern over the alleged adulteration of palm oil with azo dyes and other hazardous substances, as well as the use of bleach and harmful chemicals in the preparation of fufu and other staple foods.
Adeyeye, however, explained that NAFDAC did not have absolute regulatory control over unbranded palm oil, fufu and other traditionally packaged staple foods sold in open markets, saying state and local authorities also had responsibilities under the National Policy on Food Safety and Quality.
On concerns over imported apples, grapes, oranges and other fruits, she said agricultural produce did not fall exclusively within NAFDAC’s jurisdiction, pointing to the regulatory responsibilities of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service.
The agency, she added, was continuing enforcement of the Federal Government’s ban on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET and glass bottles below 200ml, with affected manufacturers dismantling production lines or converting them to non-alcoholic products.
Responding to demands that she step down, Adeyeye said attempts to resist or undermine her reforms were not new.
She recalled opposition during the final year of her first term in 2022, alleging that some staff were encouraged to embark on a strike between June and November that year, while individuals interested in succeeding her worked to discredit her administration.
Adeyeye, who said she was now in her ninth year at the agency, maintained that she would remain focused on consolidating reforms.
She recalled leaving a 30-year career in the United States to return to Nigeria, saying her tenure should be judged on NAFDAC’s regulatory, enforcement and reform record.
The NAFDAC boss urged Nigerians who suspect that food, drugs or other regulated products are fake or unsafe to report them through the agency’s established channels for investigation rather than rely solely on claims circulated on social media.
