The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed products worth ₦2.6 billion in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The exercise is part of a nationwide crackdown on counterfeit and unwholesome goods valued at more than ₦5.3 billion, seized and destroyed within one week.
The items included pharmaceuticals, chemicals, tomato paste, biscuits, and other goods deemed unwholesome. The Nigeria Customs Service intercepted them at Onne Port between 2025 and 2026. The destruction took place on Friday at a dumpsite in Eneka, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, with NAFDAC and Customs officials stressing the need for stronger collaboration to keep dangerous products from reaching consumers.
Martins Iluyomade, Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods and NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, represented Director-General Mojisola Adeyeye. He said the exercise showed cooperation between the two agencies and described it as the first phase, with more seized goods still to be brought from the port.
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“What you see here right now, this is the flag-up; others are still coming out of the port,” he said, urging Customs to facilitate the release of the remaining containers. He also called for sustained cooperation among agencies and warned against inter-agency rivalry.
South-South Zonal Director Chukwuma Oligbu, represented by his deputy Rita Chukwuma, said the exercise is part of the agency’s regulatory duties and aims to rid communities of fake and substandard products. Superintendent of Customs Elizabeth Abosede, representing the Enforcement Unit of the Customs Area II Command, commended NAFDAC for the collaboration.
The Port Harcourt exercise followed enforcement operations in Lagos and Aba, Abia State, where NAFDAC seized suspected counterfeit alcoholic beverages, packaging materials, and other products worth billions of naira. The agency urged Nigerians to stay vigilant and report suspected illegal manufacturing, repackaging, and sale of counterfeit products.
