The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said it sealed 18 warehouses in Bida, following the discovery of large quantities of expired food and beverage products.
According to a statement by the agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Mr Olusayo Akintola, the warehouses were located around Ndazabo White House along Minna Road, behind Bida Modern Market in Niger state.
Akintola explained that the closures followed actions by NAFDAC’s Investigation and Enforcement team, based on credible intelligence. Recovered items included expired non-alcoholic beverages, dairy milk, candies, bottled water, and pasta valued at N100 million.
Some of the products were already packaged for distribution, including 80,000 packets of expired non-alcoholic drinks, 5,000 packets of dairy milk, 16,000 packets of bottled water, 28 cartons of pasta, and other assorted expired goods.
The operation also led to the arrest of warehouse managers for interrogation. Preliminary findings linked the facilities to a company identified as BY Ventures, prompting NAFDAC to extend inspections to the company’s supermarkets in Minna.
Akintola stated that additional expired products and counterfeit Goya oil were allegedly discovered in these supermarkets, which were also sealed. The Managing Director of BY Ventures, Alhaji Yusuf Nadabo, was invited for questioning and reportedly admitted ownership of the expired items.
NAFDAC confirmed that its investigation is ongoing and that appropriate regulatory sanctions will be applied at the conclusion of the exercise to serve as a deterrent to others.