N2.6bn fake drugs, expired products destroyed by NAFDAC in Rivers
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed fake, expired and substandard products worth N2.6 billion in Rivers State.
The exercise is part of a nationwide crackdown on counterfeit and unwholesome goods valued at over N5.3 billion. The products, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, tomato paste, biscuits and other consumer goods deemed unsafe for consumption, were seized by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the Onne Port between 2025 and 2026.
The destruction took place at the weekend at the Rivers State Waste Management Agency dumpsite along the Oyigbo Expressway, Elelenwo, Port Harcourt.
Speaking during the exercise, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, represented by the Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, said the exercise marked the first phase of the destruction of the seized items.
Iluyomade, who is also Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods, said more seized consignments were expected to be evacuated from the port for destruction.
He said the process leading to the exercise took almost two weeks but expressed optimism that closer collaboration among relevant agencies would make subsequent operations faster.
He commended the NCS for intercepting the products and urged the service to ensure other seized consignments were made available for destruction without delay.
Iluyomade described the fight against counterfeit products as critical to national security, warning that unsafe food and fake or substandard medicines posed serious risks to public health. “No single agency can tackle the menace of insecurity alone. When people cannot access safe medicines or eat good food, they are insecure,” he said.
He reaffirmed NAFDAC’s commitment to protecting public health, assuring Nigerians that the agency would intensify efforts to ensure only safe food, medicines and other regulated products were available in the country. He urged the public to report suspected counterfeit products through NAFDAC’s state offices and contact details on its website.
He cautioned against publicising discoveries of suspected fake products on social media, explaining that such disclosures could alert suspects and give them time to conceal the goods before enforcement officers arrive. He added that timely information from the public remained crucial to the agency’s operations(Punch)
