The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control announced that it destroyed over ₦120bn worth of seized products between July and December 2024 across the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory.
The agency also reassured Nigerians that measures are in place to safeguard their health before, during, and after the yuletide season.
This was disclosed in the yuletide message from NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, as contained in a statement signed by the agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, on Sunday.
Adeyeye emphasised the importance of eating safely during the festive period and advised Nigerians to purchase food and drinks from outlets with identifiable addresses to facilitate the agency’s tracking processes.
She cautioned against consuming medicines and packaged food products lacking NAFDAC registration numbers, adding that unusually cheap products are likely compromised.
She further revealed that the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate is continuing its mop-up of substandard and falsified 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.”
