The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) announced the destruction of over ₦120bn worth of seized products between July and December 2024, across all six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory.
The agency also assured Nigerians that measures are in place to protect their health during and after the holiday season.
This information was shared in the yuletide message from NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, as stated in a release signed by the agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, on Sunday.
Adeyeye stressed the importance of safe eating practices during the festive period, urging Nigerians to buy food and drinks from outlets with identifiable addresses to help the agency track products.
She also warned against consuming medicines and packaged food products without NAFDAC registration numbers, advising that unusually cheap products are likely to be substandard.
In addition, she revealed that the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate is actively working to remove substandard and counterfeit medicines, as well as unwholesome food items, from markets nationwide.
“Officers from the Investigation and Enforcement, Pharmacovigilance, and Post-Marketing Surveillance Directorates are in the field confiscating falsified medicines, fake wines and drinks, and unwholesome food products that could jeopardise public health during the festive season,” she said.
The statement noted that in December 2024 alone, the agency destroyed expired and unregistered drugs worth ₦11bn in Ibadan, while counterfeit alcoholic beverages and fake medicines worth billions of naira were seized in Lagos. In Nasarawa State, the agency uncovered a factory packaging counterfeit rice and confiscated over 1,600 bags valued at ₦5bn.
Additionally, the agency shut down 150 shops in Aba, Abia State, and uncovered large-scale production of counterfeit goods, including beverages, spirits, and revalidated food items, with a market value of ₦5bn.
Adeyeye reiterated NAFDAC’s commitment to ensuring that only safe, quality food products and medicines are available in the Nigerian market. She warned that the agency will intensify efforts to drive counterfeiters out of business, describing them as “merchants of death.”