The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised the alarm over a new dimension to Nigeria’s counterfeit goods crisis, saying some Chinese counterfeiters have established production and distribution networks in the country.
NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, disclosed this in Lagos, saying some operators who previously produced fake goods abroad now identify high-demand products in Nigeria, arrange their counterfeiting, and distribute them locally.
He said the agency had also discovered that some of the alleged counterfeiters own logistics companies used to move the products, adding that NAFDAC had begun shutting down companies linked to the illegal trade.
The revelation comes amid growing concerns over fake and substandard food, medicines, cosmetics, and other regulated products in Nigerian markets.
NAFDAC said it had received complaints about counterfeit Oral-B and Colgate toothpaste and had made arrests and seizures in Kano, Sokoto, Delta, and Onitsha, Anambra State. Two suspects are also facing prosecution over the alleged importation of fake toothpaste.
The agency’s Director-General, Mojisola Adeyeye, said NAFDAC destroyed more than N1.5 trillion worth of counterfeit and substandard products during coordinated raids in Lagos and the South-East between February and March 2025. The operations involved more than 137 truckloads of products.
Iluyomade also disclosed that NAFDAC secured a record 64 convictions for counterfeiting between June 2025 and June 2026, with prison sentences in some cases ranging from one to seven years.
NAFDAC said it would continue its crackdown through seizures, arrests, prosecutions, and the closure of facilities and logistics channels linked to counterfeit products.
