Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has known as for all times imprisonment or the loss of life penalty for individuals concerned within the manufacturing and distribution of pretend regulated merchandise, describing counterfeiters as “merchants of death”.
Adeyeye made the decision whereas responding to considerations over the circulation of suspected pretend and substandard meals and different regulated merchandise within the nation.
She disclosed that NAFDAC had mopped up 7,210 merchandise throughout nationwide post-marketing surveillance operations between May and July 2026.
Adeyeye additionally revealed that the company had arrested individuals allegedly concerned within the counterfeiting of CWay water, in addition to Oral-B and Colgate toothpastes, whereas 64 convictions had been secured towards counterfeiters throughout the nation, with offenders sentenced to between one and 7 years’imprisonment with out an choice of tremendous.
The NAFDAC boss stated the company’s enforcement actions demonstrated that it was actively confronting the proliferation of falsified, adulterated, substandard, and unregistered regulated merchandise, regardless of the sophistication and scale of the actions of counterfeiters.
Adeyeye said, “Post-marketing surveillance is a important part of NAFDAC’s regulatory mandate.
“Its activities involve identifying products of regulatory concern, conducting inspections and surveillance visits, sampling products for appropriate assessment, investigating complaints and intelligence, removing non-compliant products from circulation and initiating appropriate regulatory action.”
According to her, roughly 80 per cent of NAFDAC’s post-marketing surveillance actions are directed in direction of detecting and curbing pretend, falsified, substandard, adulterated and in any other case non-compliant merchandise.
She stated between May and July 2026, the company’s Post-Marketing Surveillance Directorate undertook proactive surveillance throughout the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“In the last three months, from May to July 2026, the PMS Directorate undertook routine proactive surveillance nationwide across the 36 states and the FCT,” she stated.
Adeyeye stated, “The monthly reports show a total of 5,738 facilities visited and 7,210 brands of products mopped up across food, water, drugs and herbals, medical devices, vaccines and biologics, cosmetics, healthcare products and chemicals.”
She said that meals and water merchandise accounted for the biggest class, with 3,633 merchandise mopped up, adopted by medicine and herbals with 2,459.
The director-general disclosed the company had investigated complaints regarding counterfeit Oral-B and Colgate toothpastes and had arrested people, allegedly, behind the counterfeiting operations.
she stated, “The reported concerns involving regulated products with reference to Oral-B and Colgate toothpaste were investigated already by the agency.”
She stated NAFDAC had positioned a public discover on its official web site in regards to the counterfeit Colgate merchandise to alert shoppers.
Adeyeye added that the producer of Colgate had subsequently contacted the company after the invention of the counterfeiting operation.
“A few weeks ago, the manufacturer of Colgate, because they are counterfeiting their product, contacted us through another medium and we told them that we’ve already arrested the people that are behind the Colgate counterfeiting, they were quite pleased,” she stated.
The company additionally uncovered the counterfeiting of CWay dispenser water bottles by three firms, in line with Adeyeye.
She stated the operators collected empty 19-litre bottles bearing the identification and branding of the authentic water firm and used them to package deal water from unapproved manufacturing sources.
“They collect the bottles from CWay and go and put whatever inside it,” she stated.
Adeyeye stated the counterfeit operators refilled the bottles with water from unapproved sources earlier than promoting and distributing them to main accommodations and supermarkets.
She said, “They collected, refilled with water from unapproved production sources and subsequently introduced [the products] into the market for sale and distribution to big hotels and supermarkets. The operators were caught and they have been heavily sanctioned.”
She warned that such practices created severe public well being dangers, together with contamination, poor hygiene, product misrepresentation, and problem tracing the supply of the water consumed by members of the general public.
Adeyeye stated the newest surveillance figures represented solely a portion of NAFDAC’s broader enforcement operations throughout the nation.
She recalled that between February and March 2025, the company carried out simultaneous raids in Idumota, Lagos; Aba, Abia State; and Onitsha Bridgehead, Anambra State.
She said, “We had major raids that led to seizure and destruction of over 137 40-foot truckloads of counterfeit and substandard products valued at more than N1.5 trillion. These were all evacuated and destroyed.”
According to her, NAFDAC has additionally carried out main destruction workout routines in numerous components of the nation, together with the destruction of greater than N15 billion price of pretend, expired, counterfeit and banned medicines in Ibadan, Oyo State, in February 2026.
The merchandise destroyed included Analgin, co-codamol, codeine syrups, tramadol, oxytocin and expired vaccines.
In March 2026, she stated the company destroyed counterfeit medicines and different regulated merchandise price N1.8 billion in Kuje, Abuja.
The gadgets included narcotics, antibiotics, antimalarials, counterfeit milk, skin-lightening lotions, pretend pesticides and medical gadgets.
At the Lagos Trade Fair Market in February 2026, NAFDAC seized greater than 10 million doses of counterfeit malaria medicines and cosmetics valued at about N3 billion.
Four individuals had been arrested after the merchandise had been found in a three-storey constructing, allegedly, getting used as a warehouse.
In one other operation in Nasarawa State in June 2026, the company uncovered a manufacturing facility packaging counterfeit rice, with greater than 1,600 baggage valued at about N5 million confiscated.
Adeyeye stated the company had additionally carried out main enforcement operations in markets and enterprise premises throughout the nation, ensuing within the destruction of counterfeit drinks, spirits, revalidated meals, medicines, cosmetics and different regulated merchandise.
The NAFDAC boss stated the company had moved past seizures and destruction to securing convictions towards people concerned in counterfeiting.
“It’s not just arrests. It is convictions and prosecutions. NAFDAC moved beyond seizures to jail time,” she stated.
Adeyeye disclosed that 64 convictions for counterfeiting had been secured throughout the nation, with sentences starting from one to seven years imprisonment with out an choice of tremendous.
She said, “Five years for faking a drug. Five years for containing medicines. Twelve months for fake ointments and condoms. Seven years for fake antibiotics.”
She additionally disclosed {that a} lady concerned in pharmaceutical counterfeiting had acquired a seven-year jail sentence.
Adeyeye stated the company’s enforcement groups had continued to face dangers in the midst of finishing up their duties, significantly throughout raids on markets the place counterfeit merchandise had been being manufactured or bought.
She described the people behind such actions as “merchants of death”.
Adeyeye stated, “What is it that we cannot do in this country? Falsification? Selling things that will kill our people?”
She stated, “NAFDAC has not slept because of that.”
Adeyeye known as for more durable penalties towards people who intentionally manufactured and distributed pretend regulated merchandise.
She stated the NAFDAC Act and the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs Act had been present process evaluate, stressing that the revised legal guidelines ought to impose extreme punishment on offenders.
“The penalties should include death penalty or life imprisonment to people who produce and sell fake regulated products,” she stated.
According to her, stronger sanctions are vital as a result of counterfeit merchandise can instantly threaten human lives and undermine the well being system.
She additionally urged Nigerians to assist the company’s regulatory efforts by reporting suspected counterfeit and unsafe merchandise via official channels.
Adeyeye stated, “Fakers are not ghosts. They exist within our communities, neighbourhoods and business premises. They may be neighbours, friends, parents, spouses or acquaintances.”
Adeyeye stated NAFDAC had invested in grievance channels, together with a name centre established about eight months in the past, to allow members of the general public to report suspected violations.
She cautioned that social media allegations shouldn’t be thought to be conclusive proof {that a} product was pretend or unsafe.
“Social media allegations do not by themselves establish that a product is counterfeited, adulterated or unsafe,” she stated.
She urged members of the general public to lodge complaints instantly with NAFDAC to allow the company to conduct discreet investigations, laboratory analyses, and acceptable enforcement motion.
Adeyeye additionally dismissed requires her resignation, utilizing her response to defend her file since assuming workplace as NAFDAC Director-General in 2017.
She stated she inherited an company dealing with severe monetary, technological and operational challenges however had overseen vital enhancements in its regulatory capability.
“When I got to NAFDAC, NAFDAC had maturity level one, minus one, out of four,” she stated.
Adeyeye disclosed that she inherited about $3.2 million in excellent obligations, together with unpaid taxes and money owed owed to contractors.
“2017, there were 700 travels, and I said no more travel until we pay our debts,” she stated.
Adeyeye stated NAFDAC subsequently paid $3.11 million by November 2018.
She additionally recalled that between 70 and 80 per cent of the company’s tools was not functioning when she assumed workplace.
“In the lab, companies were sending vehicles for us to come and inspect them. No single director had a laptop,” she stated.
She stated the company attained maturity stage three in March 2022, turning into the primary regulatory company in Africa to attain the standing.
She disclosed that NAFDAC grew to become an African member of the International Medical Device Regulators Forum in 2023 and joined the International Council for Harmonisation in 2025.
“Countries now respect us. Regulatory agencies respect us,” she stated.
Adeyeye stated she had spent 37 years dwelling within the United States, the place she labored as a professor for 3 a long time, earlier than returning to Nigeria to serve.
She said, “I lived in the U.S. for 37 years. I was a professor for 30 years. I retired happily. I came here to serve.”
She expressed disappointment over what she described as a notion amongst some Nigerians that public service was primarily about private acquire.
“Some Nigerians have aversion for service. It is, ‘What can I get from the country?’ We have rendered Nigerians useless because of what can I get. We have rendered Nigerians useless because of what is in it for my workers,” she stated.
Adeyeye stated her motivation for accepting the NAFDAC appointment was to contribute to restoring Nigeria’s popularity.
“I came here for service. I retired happily. I was ashamed of my country. I came to remove some of the shame. And the world is seeing it,” she stated.
Adeyeye stated NAFDAC would proceed to strengthen surveillance, enforcement, public training and collaboration with sister companies to guard Nigerians from unsafe and counterfeit regulated merchandise.
She pressured, “Achieving a market free of fake and substandard regulated products is therefore a collective responsibility involving NAFDAC, sister agencies, other relevant stakeholders and the public,” she stated.
Sunday Ehigiator
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