{"id":1533,"date":"2026-10-17T07:12:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T07:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/?p=1533"},"modified":"2026-10-17T07:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T07:12:24","slug":"nafdac-seizes-destroys-n5-3bn-fake-products-in-lagos-aba-rivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/17\/nafdac-seizes-destroys-n5-3bn-fake-products-in-lagos-aba-rivers\/","title":{"rendered":"NAFDAC Seizes, Destroys N5.3bn Fake Products in Lagos, Aba, Rivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has seized and destroyed counterfeit and unwholesome products valued at more than N5.3bn in enforcement operations across Lagos, Abia and Rivers states.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The agency\u2019s Deputy Director of Public Relations, Christiana Obiazikwor, disclosed this in an interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, detailing operations targeting suspected counterfeit alcoholic beverages, illegal repackaging facilities, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other products.<\/p>\n

According to her, NAFDAC operatives seized suspected counterfeit alcoholic drinks and illegally brewed or repackaged products worth N2bn at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex on October 13.<\/p>\n

The agency also seized suspected fake drinks and packaging materials valued at more than N700m in Aba, Abia State, while products worth N2.6bn were destroyed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.<\/p>\n

NAFDAC Uncovers Illegal Stores in Lagos
\nObiazikwor said operatives uncovered more than 20 illegal stores at Zamfara Plaza within the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex.<\/p>\n

She said the facilities were allegedly involved in counterfeiting popular alcoholic beverage brands, revalidating expired drinks and stockpiling banned imported products.<\/p>\n

Two suspects were arrested during the operation, while the seized products were evacuated from the premises.<\/p>\n

In Aba, NAFDAC operatives raided five shops at Old Court Road Market over suspected counterfeit alcoholic beverages and packaging materials.<\/p>\n

Obiazikwor said the items recovered, valued at more than N700m, included fake labels, corks, packs and outer packaging bearing the names of established brands.
\nShe added that traders resisted the operation, disrupting efforts to evacuate the materials. The agency said the shop owners were absent and the premises were placed on hold to prevent interference with the items left behind.<\/p>\n

In another operation on October 15, officials uncovered a suspected alcoholic beverage counterfeiting facility at No. 25 Omenazu Street, Aba, following a tip-off.<\/p>\n

According to Obiazikwor, the facility was allegedly used to produce spirits and herbal liqueurs under unhygienic conditions.
\nShe said the operator fled upon the arrival of NAFDAC officials, abandoning a vehicle at the premises.<\/p>\n

The vehicle reportedly contained labels and products bearing the names Sir Edwards Scotch Whisky and Scottish Hills Whisky, as well as empty bottles in the boot.
\n\u201cA drum containing about 200 litres of liquid and a product branded Caf\u00e9 Rum Whisky were also found,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Other items discovered included 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.
\nObiazikwor valued the materials and facility at more than N500m.<\/p>\n

N2.6bn Products Destroyed in Rivers
\nIn Port Harcourt, NAFDAC destroyed products valued at N2.6bn that had been intercepted and seized by the Nigeria Customs Service at Onne Port between 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n

The items included pharmaceutical products, chemicals, tomato paste, biscuits and other goods classified by the agency as unwholesome.<\/p>\n

The Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods in Nigeria, Dr Martins Iluyomade, who represented NAFDAC Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, said the exercise demonstrated cooperation between the agency and the Nigeria Customs Service.<\/p>\n

Iluyomade, who is also NAFDAC\u2019s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, said the process began in 2025 and was supported by memoranda of understanding signed by both agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis gesture corroborates the existing good relationship we have between NAFDAC and the Nigeria Customs Service. We have MoUs signed, but we have people who have to work behind the scenes to make sure that the MoUs work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe willingness of the officers of the two agencies to make the MoU work is what has led to what we are doing today,\u201d he said.
\nHe described the exercise as the first phase, noting that more seized goods were expected to be evacuated from the port for destruction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you see here right now, this is the flag-up; others are still coming out of the port, and I want to urge the Nigeria Customs Service to quickly facilitate the remaining containers to be here on time for destruction,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Iluyomade called for stronger cooperation among government agencies involved in combating counterfeit products and other illicit activities, warning against inter-agency rivalry.<\/p>\n

Representing the Enforcement Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service, Area II Command, Superintendent of Customs Elizabeth Abosede commended NAFDAC for the exercise.<\/p>\n

The South-South Zonal Director of NAFDAC, Chukwuma Oligbu, represented by his deputy, Rita Chukwuma, said the destruction was part of the agency\u2019s regulatory responsibilities and aimed at removing fake and substandard products from communities.<\/p>\n

A public health expert, Olusoji Aramide, warned that adulterated alcoholic beverages could expose consumers to harmful substances.<\/p>\n

He said counterfeit or substandard medicines might contain incorrect ingredients, inadequate quantities of active ingredients or contaminants, potentially compromising treatment and putting patients\u2019 lives at risk.<\/p>\n

Aramide added that counterfeit packaging could make fake products appear genuine while concealing their origins, expiry dates and contents.<\/p>\n

NAFDAC urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and report suspected illegal manufacturing, repackaging and sales activities to the agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has seized and destroyed counterfeit and unwholesome products<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[221],"class_list":["post-1533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-nafdac"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG-20261016-WA0097_1792172210-768x448-1.png",768,448,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG-20261016-WA0097_1792172210-768x448-1-300x300.png",300,300,true],"medium":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG-20261016-WA0097_1792172210-768x448-1-300x175.png",300,175,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG-20261016-WA0097_1792172210-768x448-1.png",640,373,false],"large":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG-20261016-WA0097_1792172210-768x448-1.png",640,373,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG-20261016-WA0097_1792172210-768x448-1.png",768,448,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG-20261016-WA0097_1792172210-768x448-1.png",768,448,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG-20261016-WA0097_1792172210-768x448-1.png",768,448,false],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG-20261016-WA0097_1792172210-768x448-1-590x410.png",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Publisher"]},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1535,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1533\/revisions\/1535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facthubafrica.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}