• Agency says foreign counterfeiters now run plants, logistics channels locally
• NAFDAC records 64 convictions in one year
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has blamed the growing circulation of counterfeit, adulterated and substandard products in Nigeria partly on Chinese counterfeiters who have established operations in the country.
The agency said some Chinese nationals previously involved in producing and supplying fake goods from outside Nigeria have now moved their operations into the country, setting up production facilities and logistics networks for the distribution of counterfeit products.
NAFDAC Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, disclosed this in Lagos while responding to concerns over the increasing prevalence of fake goods.
According to him, counterfeiters no longer need to operate from China before supplying the Nigerian market, as some have established local networks that enable them to identify products in demand, reproduce them and distribute the fake versions across the country.
He said the development represented a new dimension to the counterfeit crisis confronting Nigeria.
Iluyomade added that NAFDAC had discovered cases where Chinese counterfeiters allegedly owned logistics companies being used to move fake products, noting that the agency had shut down some of the companies.
The disclosure comes amid growing concerns among manufacturers, medical professionals and economists over the rising circulation of fake and substandard products, which they say is threatening legitimate businesses, consumer safety and economic growth.
N1.5tn products destroyed
The scale of the problem is reflected in NAFDAC’s enforcement operations.
Director-General of the agency, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, said NAFDAC destroyed regulated products worth more than N1.5 trillion in a coordinated operation conducted across Lagos and the South-East between February and March 2025.
She added that the agency had destroyed or seized more than N1.54 trillion worth of counterfeit and substandard products nationwide since 2023.
The issue gained further public attention over the weekend following widespread social media reports and complaints about allegedly fake toothpastes, creams, contaminated bottled water and adulterated yoghurt drinks.
NAFDAC confirmed receiving complaints concerning counterfeit toothpaste, particularly products sold under the Oral-B and Colgate brands.
Iluyomade said the agency had launched investigations into the matter, resulting in arrests and seizures in several locations, including Kano, Sokoto, Delta and Onitsha in Anambra State.
He disclosed that two suspects were currently being prosecuted in court over the alleged importation of counterfeit toothpaste.
64 convictions recorded
NAFDAC also said its enforcement drive had yielded a record number of convictions.
Iluyomade disclosed that the agency secured 64 convictions between June 2025 and June 2026, describing the figure as the highest recorded in its history.
He cited a recent case in which a judge sentenced an operator of a laboratory involved in counterfeiting drinks to five years in prison after the suspect was convicted on all eight counts brought against him.
Adeyeye also highlighted the agency’s recent enforcement activities at the Upper Iweka drug market in Onitsha as part of its broader campaign against counterfeit, falsified, substandard and unregistered products.
NAFDAC said it would continue investigations, seizures, destruction of illicit products and prosecution of offenders, while urging Nigerians to remain vigilant and report suspected counterfeit products through the agency’s official channels.
