The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered a new dimension to the counterfeit products trade in Nigeria, with Chinese counterfeiters allegedly establishing production and distribution networks within the country.
NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, disclosed this in Lagos, saying investigations had revealed that some counterfeiters who previously operated from outside Nigeria had moved their activities into the country.
According to Iluyomade, the operators identify products that are popular and sell quickly in the Nigerian market, send samples to China for replication and subsequently distribute the counterfeit versions locally.
He said some of the networks allegedly control logistics companies used to move the fake products, prompting NAFDAC to begin shutting down logistics facilities linked to the activities.
The development comes amid growing concerns over the circulation of fake, adulterated and potentially harmful consumer products, including counterfeit toothpaste, contaminated bottled water, fake cosmetics and substandard dairy products.
Iluyomade also disclosed that NAFDAC had made arrests and seizures in Kano, Sokoto, Delta and Anambra states in connection with counterfeit oral-care products. He said two suspects were being prosecuted over the alleged importation of fake toothpaste brands.
Meanwhile, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency had secured 64 convictions against counterfeiters between June 2025 and June 2026, describing the figure as the highest in the agency’s history. The convictions included cases involving fake antibiotics, falsified antimalarials and codeine-containing cough syrups.
Adeyeye also said NAFDAC’s coordinated enforcement operations in Lagos and the South-East led to the seizure and destruction of regulated products worth more than ₦1.5 trillion. The operations formed part of the agency’s wider crackdown on counterfeit and substandard products across the country.
The agency has continued to intensify surveillance, raids, arrests, prosecutions and destruction of fake products, while urging Nigerians to be vigilant when purchasing regulated goods and to report suspected counterfeit products through its official channels.
