NAFDAC Links Chinese Counterfeiters in Nigeria to Surge in Fake Goods

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised the alarm over the growing proliferation of counterfeit and substandard products in Nigeria, attributing part of the trend to Chinese counterfeiters who have established operations within the country.

NAFDAC Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, disclosed this in Lagos on Monday, saying recent investigations showed that some Chinese counterfeiters who previously operated from outside Nigeria had now established plants and logistics channels within the country.

He said the development had made it easier for counterfeit products to be manufactured, imported and distributed to unsuspecting Nigerians.

“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,” Iluyomade said.

According to him, the counterfeiters identify products with high demand in Nigeria, replicate or source them and use established logistics channels to distribute the fake products across the country.

Iluyomade described the development as a “new trend” contributing to the worsening counterfeit goods situation, adding that NAFDAC had discovered that some of the Chinese operators owned logistics companies allegedly used to move counterfeit products.

He said the agency had commenced action against such companies, including shutting down logistics firms linked to the distribution of fake products.

The revelation comes amid growing concerns among manufacturers, medical experts and economists over the increasing circulation of counterfeit and substandard products, which they said was threatening legitimate businesses, endangering consumers and undermining economic growth.

The scale of the problem was highlighted by NAFDAC’s enforcement activities. The agency’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed that regulated products worth more than ₦1.5 trillion were destroyed in a coordinated operation across Lagos and the South-East between February and March 2025.

Since 2023, the agency has reportedly destroyed or seized more than ₦1.54 trillion worth of fake and substandard products nationwide.

Concerns over counterfeit products intensified following reports of fake toothpastes, creams, contaminated bottled water and adulterated yoghurt drinks circulating in the market.

NAFDAC also confirmed receiving complaints about counterfeit toothpaste brands, particularly Oral-B and Colgate.

Iluyomade said the agency had acted on intelligence concerning the fake toothpastes, resulting in arrests and seizures in Kano, Sokoto, Delta and Onitsha in Anambra State.

“We have an intelligence report on fake toothpastes and have been working on it. We’ve made a lot of arrests and seizures,” he said.

He disclosed that NAFDAC was prosecuting two individuals in court over the alleged importation of counterfeit toothpaste brands.

Adeyeye, meanwhile, said the agency had significantly intensified its crackdown on counterfeit, falsified, substandard and unregistered products, citing recent enforcement operations at the Upper Iweka drug market in Onitsha.

Iluyomade also disclosed that NAFDAC recorded 64 convictions between June 2025 and June 2026, describing the figure as the highest in the agency’s history.

He said the convictions demonstrated NAFDAC’s increasing determination to ensure that offenders face the full consequences of the law. 

“We go through the process. In December, a judge handed five years of imprisonment to one lab that counterfeited drinks, convicting them on all eight grounds,” he added.