The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has linked the growing spread of counterfeit and substandard products in Nigeria to Chinese counterfeiters who have established production and logistics operations in the country.
NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, disclosed this in Lagos on Monday, Sept. 7.
Iluyomade said recent investigations showed that some counterfeiters who previously operated from China had moved closer to the Nigerian market by establishing local production plants and distribution channels.
“Before, to fake a product, you needed to go to China to bring it. Now, you don’t need to go. They are here (in Nigeria) with us. They are the ones who will identify the product that will be moving, send it to their country (China), and then come here and distribute it to our people (Nigerians) without having to travel,” he said.
He described the development as a “new trend making it (fake goods situation) look this serious,” adding that investigations had uncovered logistics companies allegedly owned by Chinese counterfeiters.
Iluyomade said NAFDAC had been shutting down such companies and intensifying enforcement operations against counterfeiters.
The agency’s claims come amid growing concerns among manufacturers, medical professionals and economists over the spread of counterfeit and substandard goods, which they say harm legitimate businesses, endanger consumers and damage the economy.
NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency destroyed regulated products valued at more than N1.5 trillion in a coordinated enforcement operation across Lagos and the South-East between February and March 2025.
According to the agency, more than N1.54 trillion worth of counterfeit, substandard and other non-compliant goods have been seized or destroyed nationwide since 2023.
NAFDAC also said it had received complaints about counterfeit toothpaste, particularly products carrying the Oral-B and Colgate brands. Iluyomade said the agency had launched enforcement operations in several states.
“We have an intelligence report on (fake toothpastes) and have been working on it: we’ve made a lot of arrests and seizures, both in Kano and Sokoto states, Delta State and Onitsha (in Anambra State),” he said.
He added that NAFDAC was prosecuting two people over the alleged importation of counterfeit toothpaste brands.
Adeyeye said the agency had intensified efforts against counterfeit, falsified, substandard and unregistered products, citing recent enforcement operations at the Upper Iweka drug market in Onitsha.
Iluyomade said NAFDAC had also recorded significant progress in prosecuting offenders, securing 64 convictions between June 2025 and June 2026, the highest in the agency’s history.
He added that the agency had secured prison sentences in some cases, including a five-year sentence imposed in December on an individual involved in counterfeiting drinks.
