The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has stepped up its nationwide crackdown on counterfeit goods, falsified medicines, expired pharmaceuticals, and prohibited alcoholic beverages, with recent enforcement operations exposing suspected violations in eight states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The agency’s activities have included seizures worth billions of naira, the destruction of unsafe medical products and warnings about falsified drugs capable of posing serious risks to consumers.
From counterfeit alcohol operations in Lagos to expired food products in Niger State, the interventions highlight the range of threats regulators are confronting across Nigeria’s supply chains.
LAGOS AND ABIA: COUNTERFEIT ALCOHOL UNDER SCRUTINY
In Lagos, NAFDAC operatives raided more than 20 stores at the International Trade Fair Complex on October 15, 2026, uncovering an alleged counterfeiting operation involving alcoholic beverages valued at more than ₦2bn.
According to the agency, suspects were allegedly blending counterfeit drinks, repackaging expired and unsafe beverages for resale and storing prohibited imported products, while two people were arrested during the operation.
The raid followed an October 4 enforcement exercise at Ile-Epo Market, Ojuwoye Market in Mushin and Oke-Arin Market on Lagos Island, where alcoholic beverages estimated at ₦300m were seized.
The agency said some of the seized drinks were packaged in sachets and polyethylene terephthalate bottles containing less than 200 millilitres, formats that remain prohibited.
In neighbouring Abia State, enforcement officials discovered counterfeit packaging materials worth more than ₦200m in five shops at Old Court Road Market in Aba on October 14.
The materials included labels, corks, packs and outer packaging bearing the names of recognised alcoholic beverage and consumer-product brands, including Jameson, Glenfiddich, Four Cousins, Lord’s Dry Gin, Imperial Blue, Goya Oil, Chelsea, Squadron and Seaman’s Aromatic Schnapps.
NAFDAC said some traders resisted the operation, while the absence of the shop owners complicated the removal of the materials, prompting officials to seal the premises and seek the market union’s assistance in identifying those responsible.
FCT, RIVERS AND OYO: DESTRUCTION OF UNSAFE MEDICINES
In the Federal Capital Territory, NAFDAC destroyed counterfeit, substandard, falsified, expired and otherwise unwholesome regulated products valued at more than ₦1.8bn at the Kuje dumpsite in May.
The exercise covered seized medicines, prohibited sachet alcohol, expired pharmaceuticals, fake chemicals and other unsafe products collected from Abuja and surrounding areas, alongside items voluntarily surrendered by companies, non-governmental organisations and the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria.
In Rivers State, the agency destroyed expired donated medicines valued at ₦59m at the Igwuruta dumpsite in Port Harcourt on September 27, 2026.
The consignment, shipped from the United States through the Nigeria Ports Authority’s Area 1 Port in Port Harcourt, included antidepressants, anti-ulcer medicines, painkillers and drugs used to manage hypertension.
The destruction was carried out with the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant agencies to prevent the expired medicines from being diverted or distributed without authorisation.
Meanwhile, NAFDAC destroyed fake, expired and prohibited medicines worth more than ₦15bn in Ibadan, Oyo State, in February 2026, in a bid to keep unsafe pharmaceutical products out of circulation.
KANO AND KADUNA: WARNINGS OVER FALSIFIED MEDICINES
In Kano State, the agency reported intercepting a suspected falsified antimalarial medicine during routine post-market surveillance at the Coordinated Wholesale Centre on September 17, 2026.
The product, labelled Artemether/Lumefantrine 80mg/480mg and purportedly manufactured by India-based Bandaram Pharma Packleh Ltd, displayed a registration number, 02-3457, which NAFDAC said did not exist in its database.
The agency also noted that the label omitted information about the marketing authorisation holder and classified the medicine as falsified.
NAFDAC warned that using the product could lead to treatment failure, worsening malaria, drug resistance and other serious health consequences.
In March 2026, the agency also issued an alert identifying Kaduna and Gombe states among locations associated with a confirmed counterfeit version of MabThera, a prescription medicine containing rituximab used to treat certain serious medical conditions.
The warning highlighted the danger posed by falsified prescription medicines, which may expose patients to ineffective treatment and other potentially serious consequences.
NIGER STATE: EXPIRED FOOD AND BEVERAGES SEIZED
In Niger State, NAFDAC sealed 18 warehouses in February after discovering expired food and beverage products valued at more than ₦100m.
The affected facilities were located in Bida, including areas around Ndazabo White House along Minna Road and behind Bida Modern Market.
According to the agency, the warehouses contained expired non-alcoholic beverages, dairy products, sweets, bottled water and pasta, with some items already packaged for distribution.
The operation added expired food products to the list of goods targeted in the agency’s enforcement drive.
Across the affected locations, the seizures, destruction exercises and product alerts demonstrate the breadth of NAFDAC’s regulatory responsibilities, from preventing counterfeit medicines from reaching patients to stopping unsafe food and beverages from entering the market.
