Worse Than Insecurity: How Counterfeit Products Are Sending Nigerians To Early Graves

Nigeria continues to battle growing public health and safety concerns over counterfeit and adulterated products. Stakeholders, however blame increasingly sophisticated fraudsters and weak regulatory enforcements. LADESOPE LADELOKUN reports

With unlimited reports pointing to poisons packaged as products for consumption, concerns are mounting about the blistering attack on public health and safety of Nigerians by merchants of death.

While the production of fakes is not particularly new, stakeholders argue that counterfeiters have become daring with the quest for quick money amid faltering regulatory agencies.

From addition of cancer-linked chemicals to palm oil to ripening fruits with carbide, production of fake medicines to adulteration of toothpaste, Nigeria battles a thriving industry of fake products.

How palm oil is converted to groundnut oil using bleaching agents

A farmer and major palm oil dealer, Kusimo Olusola, revealed how groundnut, a major raw material for groundnut oil is bypassed for a cheaper method of heating the upper and lightest layer of palm oil, otherwise known as supernatant and ogere epo by the Yoruba-speaking Nigerians, by filtering and bleaching it. “It is hard to find original groundnut oil in the market.

What people do is to find cheaper alternatives by buying Ogere epo from Okomu oil in large quantities. They heat and filter it, then add bleaching agents to remove the smell and make it appear like groundnut oil.

It is usually cheaper. For instance, if the authentic groundnut oil costs N15,000 per five-litre keg, the adulterated version could go for N9,000 or N10,000. Producing the original groundnut oil is really expensive. It’s the reason the adulterated version flourishes.

Then, there are those who mix animal fat with groundnut oil. The groundnut oil could be 30 per cent and the animal fat would be 70 per cent. So, when you see coagulated groundnut oil, this kind of adulteration causes it.”

Industrial salt bagged, sold as table salt

Ordinarily, industrial salt should not find its way to cooking pots in homes because it finds usefulness in industries. But some smart businessmen think otherwise.

In an interview with Sunday Telegraph, a Lagos Official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained how he acted on the information provided by a whistle blower to destroy bags of industrial salt that were already ground and set to be sold as table salt.

“I was told that some people were grinding industrial salt and they were putting it in bags for sale. I went there. To cut a long story short, I destroyed all the consignments into the sea, into the lagoon. .

It’s not for human beings to eat. They are grinding it. It was in flakes. They were now grinding it into normal salt. It’s wrong. It’s abominably wrong. If you put a little quantity into water, the water will dry out. They grind it and bag it.” Asked if it’s cheaper than the real salt for cooking, he said: “ Of course, it’s cheaper.”

In a petition dated September 28, 2026, a non-governmental organisation, The She Mission Initiatives, drew the attention of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to alleged safety concerns surrounding disposable sanitary pads sold in Nigeria, urging the three agencies to conduct a nationwide post-market audit and comprehensive laboratory testing of sanitary pads produced locally and imported into the country.

The NGO hinged its call on findings reported in a 2024 scientific research paper published in the Bayero Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, titled: “Risk Assessment of Volatile Organic Compounds in Disposable Sanitary Pads in Nigeria.”

According to the organisation, the study identified up to 34 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), noting that 17 specific VOCs were confirmed across 16 major brands, especially 1,2-dichloropropane said to be associated with carcinogenic or toxic classifications under high-exposure models.

Meanwhile, NAFDAC said it had commenced investigations into concerns over the safety of disposable sanitary pads in Nigeria, assuring the nation that it had also begun VOC tests.

Recently, the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) warned residents against buying suspected adulterated palm oil as it intensifies surveillance of markets across the state.

The warning followed a presentation at the Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition, where Dr Nurah Oseni, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food Technology, Auchi Polytechnic, highlighted emerging methods used to adulterate palm oil.

Oseni, in a paper titled, “Palm Oil Adulteration: Emerging Risks, Detection Strategies and Regulatory Control,” said palm oil was vulnerable to adulteration due to its high trading volume, consumers’ preference for deep-red colour and price differences.

According to her, some adulterators use potentially carcinogenic Sudan and Azo dyes to deepen the oil’s colour, while others mix it with recovered or spent cooking oil.

The expert advised consumers to conduct visual checks, noting that genuine palm oil may separate into layers, with the lower layer appearing orange to red-yellowish rather than uniformly deep red.

However, she cautioned that visual inspection alone cannot confirm adulteration. Reacting, LASCOPA General Manager, Afolabi Solebo, urged residents to report suspected cases through the agency’s official channels. He said surveillance had been intensified and warned that traders found selling adulterated palm oil would be arrested and prosecuted under relevant laws.

920 chemicals in everyday food, products that may raise breast cancer risk – Researchers

In a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives, which is the latest work by researchers from the Silent Spring Institute and other institutions,920 cancer-relevant chemicals or BC-Chems, were found in everyday products, food, drinking water, medicines and pesticides.

The researchers said the chemicals were identified because they cause mammary tumours in rodents or activate biological pathways involving hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone.

However, they stressed that the findings did not prove that all 920 chemicals cause breast cancer in humans. The study found about 500 BC-Chems in consumer products, while 462 were linked to dietary sources, 162 to drinking water, 485 to pesticide formulations, 142 to pharmaceuticals and 106 to construction materials.

It’s difficult to come across original tyres, brake pads – President, Tanker Owners

Over one year after he granted Sunday Telegraph an interview, President, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Yusuf Othman, bemoaned the scarcity of original spare parts for trucks, insisting the situation has not changed. He lamented the proliferation of low quality spare parts and tyres in markets, stating that transporters are often compelled to buy them owing to a lack of alternatives. According to him, tanker owners are compelled to buy fake brake pads because it’s extremely difficult to come across original spare parts.

“The situation has not changed. There is still a proliferation of fake spare parts. Fake brake pads, fake tyres. The original parts are hard to come by. We buy what we see.”

When challenged on the dangers of buying fake parts, Yusuf said: “These trucks are driven by humans, who cherish their lives and have families. They are owned by investors, who have put hundreds of millions of Naira into the business. We are not happy that these things happen. We challenge SON and other agencies to do their work.”

Just last week, September 25 to be precise, a Federal High Court in Lagos convicted a Lagos trader, Elwah Chigbogu, and two companies linked to him over the possession, importation and distribution of fake and unregistered drugs. After pleading guilty to a four-count charge filed by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, the defendants were convicted by Justice Musa Kakaki.

Among fake drugs produced by Chigbogu and his men were Zanza Cyprodine, Calpol 200ml Suspension, Zirtek Allergy Relief, Candesartan 4mg Tablets, Nicorette 4mg, Lisinopril 10mg Tablets, Canesten, Anusol Ointment, Gaviscon Double Action, Prolife Vitamin C and Gliclazide 80mg Tablets. Others included Amitriptyline 25mg Tablets, Allopurinol 300mg Tablets, Levothyroxine 50mg Tablets and Dexazosin 2mg Tablets.

Last year, NAFDAC said it evacuated over 100 truckloads of substandard, falsified, and banned medicines and narcotics meant for human consumption from Idumota Market in Lagos State, Onitsha Market in Anambra State, and Aba Market in Abia State, in just six weeks! Chigbogu’s story is not an isolated case. It is one among many of such.

In 2024, one Emeka Madu, a 47-year- old secondary school dropout was arrested for producing “Domiquine” and other fake malaria drugs in an uncompleted building in Ikotun Egbe, Lagos State. According to him, the drugs were distributed in Anambra and other South East states.

‘More people killed by fake drugs than Boko Haram’

Last year, speaking on the scale of havoc caused by fake and substandard drugs during NAFDAC’s operations, where 10,000 cartons of unregistered tomato paste and cosmetics were seized at the Lagos Trade Fair Market, Director of Investigation and Enforcement at the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Martins Iluyomade, said fake drugs, cosmetics and unsafe foods have killed more Nigerians than the terror group, Boko Haram.

“I can say authoritatively that deaths from substandard medicines, cosmetics, and unsafe foods exceed the number of people killed by Boko Haram. This is why the agency remains committed to ensuring Nigerians use only products that have passed regulatory processes, assuring safety and effectiveness, ” Iluyomade claimed.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC) estimates that 500,000 people die annually across sub-Saharan Africa from counterfeit drugs. The body states that 267,000 of the 500,000 deaths each year are linked to substandard Malaria medicines.

In an urgent motion of Public importance moved by a member representing Ilorin West Asa Federal Constituency of Kwara State, Muktar Shagaya, the House of Representatives called on the Federal Government to declare State of Emergency on the Proliferation of Fake and substandard Goods, Drugs and Food in Nigeria According to the Green Chamber, Nigeria suffers economic losses of approximately ₦15 trillion annually due to counterfeit and substandard goods, as reported by the Standards Organization of Nigeria.

Explaining why fakes thrive, Shagaya identified weak enforcement mechanisms and the absence of stringent penalties for offenders as the oxygen fuelling the menace.

The lawmakers, however, urged the Federal Government to enhance the capacity of regulatory agencies by providing adequate funding, modern equipment and advanced technology for effective surveillance, detection and enforcement.

Expose officers engaged in sharp practices – Customs tell Nigerians

The Nigeria Customs Service is considered important by a number of observers to the fight against fake products. Meanwhile, a recent undercover report by an online newspaper, The Whistler, raised concerns about the safety of Nigerians and alleged sharp practices among regulatory agencies.

In the report, it was alleged that a Customs agent paid $10,000 per container, N1. 9 million in bribes to secure clearance of four containers that had counterfeit household goods.

Speaking on the role of the Nigeria Customs in the fight against counterfeit goods and the alleged roles of its men in aiding and abetting the importation of counterfeit goods, its Spokesman, Abdullahi Maiwada, said:

“You have levelled a vague allegation that the officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service(NCS) are aiding and abetting the smuggling of counterfeit goods. I want to make it clear to you that the function of the Nigeria Customs Service lies on one, implementation of government fiscal policies in relation to either items that are prohibited from coming into the country or items that are allowed to come into the country with specific rate of duties.

“So, we do classification, we do valuation, we scan items to make sure that they are in conformity. Those items are in accordance with the declaration made by the importer. If we see any discrepancy, our role is to make sure that those items are not imported into the country now.”

He added: “Customs officers are not angels. There are people, who might decide to cut corners. If you have any information about any officer that is partaking in illegal activities, we are ready to get that information, make use of that information, and there are laws that are applicable to that officer. Expose that officer now.

If an officer is engaging in illicit activities, expose him so that we take action. But you cannot use the name of one person to damage every other person.”

It’ll no longer be business as usual for importers of fake products – SON

Speaking on the menace of fake and substandard products, the Director-General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Ifeanyi Okeke, warned that it will no longer be business as usual for producers and importers of substandard products in the country.

According to the SON boss, the organization maintains a zero-tolerance policy for substandard products and is committed to ensuring that made-in-Nigeria goods and services conform with relevant Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS).

He further stated that product safety and quality were critical to building a viable economy, particularly through the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises.

The SON, he said, has, over the years, collaborated with relevant stakeholders to develop and establish standards for products and service and certify them in line with both national and international requirements.

Commenting, Deputy Director, Public Relations of NAFDAC, Christiana Obiazikwor, in an interview with Sunday Telegraph, said the agency was working hard to rid Nigeria of fake drugs, stating that it secured 64 convictions within a year.

“We are doing great. All these things are what people orchestrate. What people say does not really represent the situation. NAFDAC is working. The Director General is working very hard. We are doing more than we have been doing. We have been able to secure 64 convictions within a year.”

Earlier, the Director General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, asserted the continued presence of suspected counterfeit products in the market could not be interpreted to mean the absence of regulatory surveillance, stating that the agency had moved beyond simply seizing fake products to ensuring that offenders face jail time.

She explained that some offenders were sentenced to five years in prison for counterfeiting Global Fund Artemether and Codeine based cough and cold syrup, noting that others received seven year sentences for counterfeiting.

Describing counterfeiters as merchants of death, Adeyeye called for life imprisonment or the death penalty for persons involved in the production and distribution of fake regulated products.

NAFDAC, she said, had mopped up 7,210 products during nationwide post-marketing surveillance operations between May and July 2026.

According to her, the agency’s enforcement activities demonstrate that it is actively confronting the proliferation of falsified, adulterated, substandard, and unregistered regulated products, despite the sophistication and scale of the activities of counterfeiters.

“Post-marketing surveillance is a critical component of NAFDAC’s regulatory mandate. “Its activities involve identifying products of regulatory concern, conducting inspections and surveillance visits, sampling products for appropriate assessment, investigating complaints and intelligence, removing non-compliant products from circulation and initiating appropriate regulatory action.”

She further explained that 80 per cent of NAFDAC’s post-marketing surveillance activities were directed towards detecting and curbing fake, falsified, substandard, adulterated and otherwise non-compliant products.

Adeyeye, however, called for collective efforts in the fight against fake and substandard products, stating that where a violation is established, NAFDAC takes immediate, appropriate regulatory action, including prompt public safety communication.

“Achieving a market free of fake and substandard regulated products is therefore a collective responsibility involving NAFDAC, sister agencies, other relevant stakeholders, and the public. Individuals involved in counterfeiting regulated products are members of our communities—they may be neighbours, friends, parents, spouses, or acquaintances. Fakers are not ghosts; they exist within our communities, neighbourhoods, and business premises.

“The Agency has invested significantly in efficient and reliable complaint channels, including a 24-hour Call Centre, for the reporting of genuine complaints concerning regulated products. These established channels enable the Agency to receive, assess, and investigate complaints appropriately and should be used alongside, rather than replaced by, social media platforms,” she said.