Counterfeit food, drugs and other consumer goods have become a growing public-health concern in Nigeria.
Weekend Trust's cover story this weekend asks how far fake products have spread and what regulators are doing about it.
NAFDAC says cosmetics, food and beverages account for more than half of the counterfeit products it seizes. The agency has also warned that counterfeiters now fake bottled water, toothpaste and herbal products, as well as medicines.
In February 2026, it reported seizing more than 10 million doses of fake malaria medicine at the Lagos Trade Fair Market. It had earlier said that 30 per cent of drugs in open markets were fake or substandard.
The agency says it is fighting back. It reports destroying counterfeit products worth more than N1.5 trillion and securing 64 convictions between June 2025 and June 2026, which it describes as its highest number.
Its Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has blamed longstanding regulatory weaknesses for the crisis. NAFDAC's enforcement director, Martins Iluyomade, has alleged that some Chinese nationals involved in counterfeiting now run manufacturing and distribution networks inside Nigeria.
Critics are not convinced. In a 14 September editorial, Daily Trust called for a national emergency on counterfeiting and urged NAFDAC to improve its performance. It argued that intermittent raids generate headlines but leave the wider system intact.
Nigerians have also taken to social media to expose suspected fake products, putting NAFDAC and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria under pressure.
Experts quoted by Weekend Trust warn that fake medicines are hard to spot by appearance alone.
They note that when a drug fails, doctors may wrongly assume resistance or complications. NAFDAC says it is intensifying surveillance, inspections, raids, arrests and prosecutions.
Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,
International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)
[email protected]
+233555275880
Sources
Daily Trust, "Food, drugs: The fakes among us," 3 Oct 2026: https://dailytrust.com/food-drugs-the-fakes-among-us/
Parrot Nigeria repost of the Daily Trust story: https://parrotnigeria.com/2026/10/03/food-drugs-the-fakes-among-us/
Daily Trust, NAFDAC on counterfeit categories: https://dailytrust.com/cosmetics-food-beverages-account-for-50-per-cent-of-counterfeit-products-nafdac/
News Agency of Nigeria, via Gazette NGR, 23 Sept 2026: https://gazettengr.com/nafdac-raises-alarm-over-counterfeit-medicines-bottled-water-other-products/
Daily Trust, via Parrot Nigeria, "Outcry as fake products flood markets": https://parrotnigeria.com/2026/09/05/outcry-as-fake-products-flood-markets
WithinNigeria, 10 Sept 2026: https://www.withinnigeria.com/2026/09/10/nafdac-uncovers-chinese-counterfeit-syndicate-behind-n1-5tn-fake-products-crisis-heres-how-to-protect-yourself/
Daily Trust editorial, "The counterfeit drugs crisis," 14 Sept 2026: https://dailytrust.com/the-counterfeit-drugs-crisis/
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