Counterfeit crisis: NAFDAC blames Chinese dealers amid backlash

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has linked Chinese counterfeiters now living in Nigeria to the proliferation of fake goods, worsening the production, distribution and sale of adulterated, harmful and unwholesome products.

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NAFDAC Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, responding to The PUNCH in Lagos on Monday, said recent investigations found Chinese counterfeiters, previously operating externally, have set up plants and logistics channels inside the country.

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He said, “Before, to fake a product, you needed to go to China to bring it. Now, you don’t need to go. They are here (in Nigeria) with us. They are the ones who will identify the product that will be moving, send it to their country (China), and then come here and distribute it to our people (Nigerians) without having to travel.

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Iluyomade, describing it as a “new trend making it (fake goods situation) look this serious,” noted that NAFDAC discovered the “Chinese people (counterfeiters) own the logistics companies which they used to bring these (fake goods) things.” NAFDAC said it has been shutting down the logistics companies.

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The agency’s revelations come amid growing backlash. Manufacturers, medical experts and economists have jointly raised the alarm over the surge in counterfeit and substandard products across Nigeria, warning that the trend is wiping out legitimate businesses, killing consumers and stunting the economy.

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The economic impact of fake goods is underscored by the value destroyed in NAFDAC’s destruction exercises.

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According to the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, the agency destroyed regulated products worth over N1.5tn in a single coordinated operation across Lagos and the South-East between February and March 2025, as part of a wider crackdown that has seen it destroy or seize more than N1.54tn worth of fake and substandard goods nationwide since 2023.

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Online discourse surrounding the rise of fake items reached a fever pitch over the weekend. Nigerians, including influencers like Scott Iguma and Aproko Doctor, raised the alarm over the rise of these counterfeited materials. Social media posts have gone viral about fake toothpastes, creams, contaminated bottled water and adulterated yoghurt drinks.

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NAFDAC affirmed that it received complaints through its official channels about counterfeit toothpaste, especially Oral B and Colgate.

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Enforcement chief Iluyomade said, “We have an intelligence report on (fake toothpastes) and have been working on it: we’ve made a lot of arrests and seizures, both in Kano and Sokoto states, Delta State and Onitsha (in Anambra State).”

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He announced that NAFDAC is prosecuting two people in court for importing fake toothpaste brands.

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NAFDAC DG Adeyeye maintained that the agency has decimated counterfeited, falsified, substandard and unregistered products, calling to mind its recent enforcement campaign in the Upper Iweka drug market in Onitsha.

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Concluding, Director of Enforcement, Iluyomade, said the agency has progressed in prosecuting offenders, noting that between “June 2025 and June 2026, NAFDAC hit a record of 64 convictions. The highest in its history.”

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He hailed the accomplishment, stating, “We go through the process. In December, a judge handed five years of imprisonment to one lab that counterfeited drinks, convicting them on all eight grounds.”

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