The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has seized and destroyed counterfeit and unwholesome products worth more than N5.3bn in a week.
The agency's Deputy Director of Public Relations, Christiana Obiazikwor, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, detailing operations involving suspected counterfeit alcoholic beverages, repackaged products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, tomato paste and biscuits.
According to her, NAFDAC seized suspected counterfeit alcoholic drinks and illegally brewed or repackaged products valued at N2bn at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex on October 13. The agency also seized suspected fake drinks and packaging materials worth more than N700m in Aba, Abia State, while goods valued at N2.6bn were destroyed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Friday.
Obiazikwor said operatives uncovered more than 20 illegal stores at Zamfara Plaza, within the Trade Fair Complex, where they discovered activities involving the counterfeiting of popular alcoholic beverage brands, the revalidation of expired drinks and the stockpiling of banned imported products. Two suspects were arrested during the operation and the seized products were evacuated from the premises.
In Aba, NAFDAC operatives raided five shops at Old Court Road Market over suspected counterfeit alcoholic beverages and packaging materials, including fake labels, corks, packs and outer packaging bearing the names of established brands. The agency said its officers encountered resistance from traders during the operation, affecting the evacuation of the materials, and the premises were placed on hold after the shop owners were found absent.
Speaking on another discovery, Obiazikwor said NAFDAC officials uncovered a suspected alcoholic beverage counterfeiting operation at No. 25 Omenazu Street, Aba, on October 15, where the facility was allegedly used to produce spirits and herbal liqueurs under unhygienic conditions. The operator fled after officials arrived following a tip-off, abandoning his car, which contained labels and products bearing the names Sir Edwards Scotch Whisky and Scottish Hills Whisky, as well as empty bottles in the boot.
'A drum containing about 200 litres of liquid and a product branded Café Rum Whisky were also found,' she said, adding that operatives discovered 200-litre drums containing ethanol, plastic buckets, pieces of tree bark, packaging materials, corks, tanks containing liquid mixtures, dirty sieves, sealing machines, bottles bearing popular brand names and cartons. The materials and facility were valued at more than N500m.
In a separate exercise in Port Harcourt, NAFDAC destroyed products valued at N2.6bn, including pharmaceutical products, chemicals, tomato paste, biscuits and other items described as unwholesome, which were intercepted and seized by the Nigeria Customs Service at Onne Port between 2025 and 2026. The Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods in Nigeria, Dr Martins Iluyomade, who represented NAFDAC's Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, said the exercise demonstrated cooperation between the two agencies under signed memoranda of understanding, adding that the destruction was the first phase and more seized goods were expected from the port.
A public health expert, Olusoji Aramide, said adulterated alcoholic beverages could expose consumers to harmful substances, while counterfeit or substandard medicines might contain incorrect ingredients, inadequate quantities of active ingredients or contaminants, potentially undermining treatment and putting patients at risk. NAFDAC has urged Nigerians to remain vigilant about suspicious products and report illegal manufacturing, repackaging and sales activities to the agency.
Source: The PUNCH
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