We’ve covered how a lack of local testing capacity undermines trust in Africa’s own pharmaceutical manufacturing, and how up to 40% of sickle cell genotype tests in Nigeria may be inaccurate. NAFDAC’s newest warning adds a more deliberate threat to that same trust problem: counterfeiters no longer need to import fake products at all.
NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, said recent intelligence shows counterfeit operations have shifted from shipping fake goods in from China to establishing manufacturing plants and logistics networks directly inside Nigeria. “Before, to fake a product, you needed to go to China to bring it. Now, they are here with us,” he said, describing a model where counterfeiters identify popular products, send samples to China for replication, then distribute the fakes locally through logistics companies they own outright. NAFDAC says it has begun systematically shutting down illegal logistics facilities operated by foreign nationals tied to this network.
The scale of the broader enforcement effort is substantial: NAFDAC Director-General Mojisola Adeyeye said the agency confiscated and destroyed regulated products worth more than ₦1.5 trillion during coordinated operations in Lagos and the south-east, alongside 64 counterfeiter convictions between June 2025 and June 2026, the highest annual total the agency has recorded, including a five-year prison sentence for an illegal beverage laboratory operator. Legal proceedings are ongoing in federal courts against suspects arrested in Kano, Sokoto, Delta, and Anambra states over fake oral-care products, on top of concerns already circulating around adulterated toothpaste, contaminated bottled water, and unwholesome dairy products.
What You Can Do
- Buy regulated products, especially medicine, cosmetics, and oral care items, only from verified retailers, and check for NAFDAC registration numbers rather than assuming imported packaging guarantees authenticity.
- Report suspected counterfeit manufacturing or distribution operations to NAFDAC directly. The agency’s enforcement wins this year came from active intelligence gathering, not just border inspection.
This article is for general information. If you suspect a product is counterfeit, report it to NAFDAC directly rather than continuing to use it.
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