The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered what it described as one of the most extensive counterfeit drug operations in recent years, seizing more than 10 million doses of fake and banned medicines concealed in warehouses in Lagos State.
Briefing journalists, NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement and Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Fake and Substandard Products, Martins Iluyomade, said the operation followed intelligence gathered during a February 3 training meeting on suspicious activities around the Trade Fair–Navy area of Lagos.
Acting on the tip-off, officials discovered multiple warehouse structures disguised as residential buildings in a secluded area. According to Iluyomade, the isolated location enabled the operators to evade detection.
Inside the facilities, authorities found large quantities of counterfeit and prohibited medicines, including injectable anti-malarials, antibiotics, sachet drugs, blister packs, and banned products such as Analgin, which has been outlawed in Nigeria for over 15 years.
Iluyomade described the discovery as alarming, noting that many of the seized products were life-saving medications. He warned that the use of counterfeit injectable drugs in critical conditions such as cerebral malaria could result in fatalities. He added that the fake products were highly sophisticated, making it difficult even for manufacturers to differentiate them from genuine versions.
NAFDAC estimated the street value of the confiscated items at over N3 billion. Eight trailers loaded with assorted fake medicines and cosmetics were evacuated from the site.
The agency characterized the operation as the work of an international syndicate that clones genuine products abroad and reintroduces them into Nigeria’s distribution chain through local collaborators.
NAFDAC warned the public against purchasing unusually cheap drugs, stressing that counterfeit medicines pose a grave threat to public health and national safety.
