The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has linked Chinese counterfeiters operating in Nigeria to the growing circulation of fake, adulterated and substandard products across the country. The agency said some counterfeiters who previously operated from outside Nigeria had established production facilities and distribution networks locally.
NAFDAC Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, said recent investigations showed that some Chinese nationals involved in counterfeiting had also established logistics companies used to move fake products. He said the development had made it possible for counterfeiters to identify products in demand locally, reproduce them and distribute them without travelling outside Nigeria.
Iluyomade said NAFDAC had been shutting down logistics companies allegedly involved in the distribution of counterfeit goods. His comments came amid growing public concern over fake and substandard products, with manufacturers, medical experts and economists warning that the trend threatens legitimate businesses, consumer safety and economic growth.
The scale of the problem has also been reflected in NAFDAC’s enforcement operations. Director-General Mojisola Adeyeye said the agency destroyed regulated products worth more than N1.5tn in a coordinated operation across Lagos and the South-East between February and March 2025. Since 2023, the agency has destroyed or seized more than N1.54tn worth of fake and substandard products nationwide.
Recent public concern has focused on allegedly counterfeit toothpaste, creams, bottled water and yoghurt drinks. NAFDAC confirmed receiving complaints about fake Oral-B and Colgate toothpaste, while Iluyomade said the agency had made arrests and seizures linked to counterfeit toothpaste in Kano, Sokoto, Delta and Onitsha in Anambra State.
He also disclosed that two people were being prosecuted over the alleged importation of fake toothpaste brands. Adeyeye said NAFDAC had intensified its campaign against counterfeit, falsified, substandard and unregistered products, citing enforcement operations including the recent action at the Upper Iweka drug market in Onitsha.
NAFDAC said its enforcement efforts had also produced a record number of convictions. Iluyomade disclosed that the agency secured 64 convictions between June 2025 and June 2026, the highest number in its history, including a five-year prison sentence handed to an operator convicted on eight counts involving the counterfeiting of drinks. The agency said it would continue investigations, seizures and prosecutions as concerns over counterfeit products persist.
