NAFDAC Destroys N1.5tn Fake Products in Massive Nationwide Crackdown
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, says it destroyed counterfeit and substandard regulated products worth more than N1.5tn in coordinated operations across Lagos and the South-East between February and March 2025.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this on Monday in Lagos while responding to growing public concerns over the circulation of fake and substandard products in the country.
Adeyeye said simultaneous raids at Idumota Market in Lagos, Onitsha and the Ariaria International Market in Aba led to the seizure and destruction of more than 137 truckloads of counterfeit and substandard products, each truck being a 40-foot container.
She described counterfeiters as “merchants of death” and reaffirmed NAFDAC’s commitment to a zero-tolerance approach to the production and distribution of fake regulated products.
The agency said its enforcement activities have resulted in the seizure or destruction of more than N1.54tn worth of counterfeit and substandard products nationwide since 2023.
NAFDAC also disclosed that it destroyed fake, expired, counterfeit and banned medicines worth over N15bn in Ibadan, Oyo State, in February 2026. The products included Analgin, Co-codamol, codeine-based syrups, Tramadol, Oxytocin and expired vaccines.
In March 2026, the agency destroyed another N1.8bn worth of counterfeit medicines and other prohibited products in Kuje, Abuja. The items included narcotics, antibiotics, antimalarials, counterfeit milk, skin-lightening creams, fake insecticides and medical devices.
According to the agency, these pharmaceutical-related destruction exercises, including an N11bn destruction of expired and unregistered drugs in Ibadan in December 2024, brought the total value of drug-related products destroyed in the highlighted operations to N27.8bn.
NAFDAC further reported that it secured 64 convictions for counterfeiting nationwide, with offenders receiving prison sentences ranging from one to seven years without the option of a fine.
Adeyeye said the agency’s Post-Market Surveillance Directorate visited 6,233 facilities and removed 7,210 non-compliant brands and products from circulation between May and July 2026.
She said the exercise covered food and water, drugs and herbals, medical devices, vaccines and biologics, cosmetics, healthcare products and chemicals.
The NAFDAC boss also disclosed that the agency uncovered the unauthorised refilling of 19-litre dispenser bottles bearing the identity of a registered water company. She said three companies were found to be using water from unapproved sources to refill the bottles before supplying them to hotels and supermarkets, adding that the operators had been sanctioned.
Adeyeye stressed that the fight against counterfeit products requires the collective efforts of NAFDAC, other regulatory agencies, state authorities and members of the public.
She urged Nigerians to report suspected fake or non-compliant products through NAFDAC’s official complaint channels rather than relying solely on social media.
The agency listed its enquiry line as 0700-1-NAFDAC and its complaint line as 0800-1-NAFDAC.
Adeyeye also reiterated NAFDAC’s call for stronger penalties for the production and sale of counterfeit regulated products, saying tougher sanctions would help deter offenders and protect public health.