NAFDAC Destroys Over N120bn Worth of Fake Products in 6 Months

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said that about N120 billion worth of seized counterfeit products were destroyed by its enforcement team in the last six months.
As way of preventing sale and distribution of these counterfeit products, the Agency advised Nigerians to ensure they buy only branded food packages and drinks with NAFDAC’s approving seal.

It emphasized the need for the public to pay attention to what they eat and to stay safe, especially during the festive period.
This was contained in the Christmas and New Year message of the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye to Nigerians.

Giving update on the enforcement exercise, the Agency said its men had stormed supermarkets in the big cities across the country such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Aba, Ibadan, Kaduna, and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to apprehend manufacturers and merchants of fake drugs and unwholesome foods, while products running into billions of Naira had been confiscated in the last three months of renewed enforcement.

She said: “In total, over N120bn worth of seized products were destroyed by the Agency in six months (October-December) in the six geo-political zones and FCT.
“The DG however, stated that the Agency would not rest on its oars until the merchants of death are forced out of operation, warning that the Agency would make it hard for them to operate freely and endanger the health of innocent consumers.

“The coming year will be tough for the people that prioritize money over the wellbeing of their fellow human beings by compromising quality of medicines and food products in the country.”
The DG urged consumers to consistently scrutinize medicines and branded drinks carefully to distinguish genuine products from counterfeits before consumption.

 “NAFDAC wishes to advise that the members of the public should be vigilant during this yuletide season. We are using this medium to appeal to Nigerians to buy only NAFDAC registered drinks from reputable and licenced retailers, bars and supermarkets.
“If the product is being sold well below its normal price, or doesn’t seem to include normal taxes on liquors, then it is probably fake. Check for poor quality packaging, spelling mistakes and unusually shaped bottles.

“Healthcare professionals and consumers are advised to report any suspicion of substandard and falsified medicines or food to the nearest NAFDAC office,” she said
She specifically instructed that those counterfeiting popular brands of rice should be arrested and their products removed from markets.

She reiterated the need for Nigerians to always procure food and drinks in outlets with identifiable addresses and locations to ease the Agency’s track and trace obligation, adding that medicines and packaged food products that do not have NAFDAC number should be avoided.

Adeyeye, however, disclosed that officers of the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate (I&E) would continue the ongoing mop up of substandard and falsified medicines and unwholesome food items from the markets across the country.  

She said officials of the Agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate (I&E), Pharmacovigilance (PV) Directorate and Post-Marketing Surveillance (PMS) Directorate are jointly on the field mopping up falsified medicines, fake wines and drinks and unwholesome food products that could endanger the health of the people during the festive season.

Her words: “On Wednesday, December 11, 2024, the Agency destroyed expired, unregistered drugs worth N11 billion in Ibadan, Oyo State. In November, the Agency seized N300m worth of fake medicines during a raid of Tyre Village, Trade Fair Complex, Lagos State.
“Officers of the Agency also busted counterfeit alcohol packaging centres and seized items worth N2billion in Lagos.
“This followed reports of illegal revalidation of expired alcoholic beverages at the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos”.  

It said the team also went to Nasarawa State where they searched the Karu Market situated at the border with FCT and confiscated bags of repackaged expired rice.
On the whole it said that products worth about N5 billion were seized during the raid.
Also, in Nasarawa State, the Agency sealed a factory and eight shops for packaging and distributing counterfeit rice, valued at approximately ₦5 billion.
The operation, conducted on December 19, targeted a facility named Ninjur Ventures on Abacha Road, Karu.

It would seem as though these merchants of substandard and fake products are seizing the opportunity of the anticipated high level of consumer purchases and consumption during the yuletide.  
At Wuse and Garki markets in Abuja last Friday the agency said it confiscated over 1,600 bags of counterfeit rice worth about N5 billion
Simultaneously, a total of 150 shops at Eziukwu Market in Aba, a suburb of Abia State, were shut down following an operation by the Agency.

As the mop-up operation was going on in the FCT and Nasarawa State, NAFDAC was carrying out a two-day operation in the Aba Market on December 16 and 17, 2024.
During the operation, the agency said it uncovered large-scale production and distribution of fake and expired goods including beverages, carbonated drinks, wines, spirits, vegetable oils, and revalidated food items such as noodles, powdered milk, and yoghurt with a market value of N5bn.

The Agency further said the enforcement team on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, also destroyed expired, unregistered, counterfeit, and smuggled products valued at ₦10,991,458,374.60.

According to NAFDAC, the destroyed items, collected from five states in the Southwest Zone (excluding Lagos) and Kwara State in the North Central Zone were incinerated in Ibadan due to its proximity.