(Director-General-of-NAFDAC-Mojisola-Adeyeye. Photo by Daily Trust)
On Wednesday, the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) reported that more than half of the nation’s counterfeit goods came from food, drink, and cosmetics.
This was announced by NAFDAC Director-General Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye during a news conference held by the organization to honor the 2026 International Anti-Counterfeit Month, which was marked worldwide in June.
Adeyeye was represented by Dr. Martins Iluyomade, NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, who stated that the percentage was determined by the quantity of counterfeit and fraudulent goods, beverages, and cosmetics that NAFDAC had seized.
She further stated that throughout its numerous operations throughout the nation, counterfeit and inferior medications with the wrong ingredients, insufficient active pharmaceutical substances, or no active ingredients in circulation were also seized.
In Nigeria, the most counterfeit goods are cosmetics, which account for over 50% of seizures, followed by food and drink.
Additionally, a sizable amount of NAFDAC’s enforcement efforts are focused on pharmaceuticals.
The agency also expressed concern about the changing strategies employed by counterfeiters to flood Nigerian markets with phony and inferior medications, cautioning that this trend constituted a major threat to national security and public health.
The D-G clarified that the counterfeiters made use of internet procurement platforms that let people order fake goods straight from overseas producers without ever leaving Nigeria.
She added that they smuggled goods into the nation by taking advantage of groupage, a technique of cargo consolidation.
Several importers share a single shipping container under the groupage arrangement, which makes it challenging for authorities to spot suspect shipments, according to NAFDAC.
In the past, importers had to fly overseas to examine plants and make their own shipping arrangements.
These days, a Nigerian may order counterfeit goods online, sit comfortably in a store, and have logistics companies bring them right to their house.
These foreign businesses have suppliers or agents that keep an eye on goods with strong market demand and set up the production of counterfeit goods overseas, especially in Asia.
“These counterfeit goods frequently closely mimic the packaging of real brands, making it difficult for customers and even retailers to tell them apart from real goods,” she stated.
According to the D-G, the agency is also trying to strengthen verification methods that enable producers to verify if imported shipments truly came from their facilities and to close regulatory gaps.