The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has expressed deep concern over findings from enforcement and surveillance operations in Kano State that revealed widespread adulterated food products and fake children’s medicines containing no active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Speaking in connection with ongoing crackdowns and the inauguration of a specialised task force in the state, Adeyeye highlighted Kano’s position as a major commercial hub that makes it particularly vulnerable to the manufacture, importation and distribution of substandard and falsified products destined for local and regional markets.
She noted that laboratory analyses of certain paediatric medicines recovered during operations in Kano showed they contained zero active ingredients. One documented case involved Asian Ampicillin 125mg + Cloxacillin 125mg/5ml oral suspension for children, which laboratory tests confirmed had no therapeutic content at all. Officials described such products as a silent but deadly threat capable of causing treatment failure, antimicrobial resistance and avoidable deaths, especially among vulnerable children.
Adulterated food items were also uncovered, including vegetable oils, sachet water and other unwholesome products that failed safety standards. NAFDAC has repeatedly destroyed large quantities of these items in the North-West zone. In one exercise, the agency destroyed more than 618 tonnes of fake, counterfeit, substandard and expired regulated products valued at over ₦10.19 billion at the Kalibawa Destruction Site in Kano. The haul included counterfeit antibiotics, antimalarials, antihypertensives, adulterated foods, hazardous cosmetics, fake agrochemicals and compromised medical devices seized across Kano and neighbouring states.
Adeyeye warned that counterfeit drugs and unsafe foods pose serious public health risks, undermine confidence in the healthcare system and threaten national development. She stressed that NAFDAC has strengthened its intelligence gathering, surveillance and enforcement mechanisms, including covert and overt operations at the Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC) in Kano, which has helped reduce the chaotic distribution of fake products.
The agency recently inaugurated a seven-member Kano State task force under its Investigation and Enforcement Directorate to intensify raids, seizures, arrests, prosecutions and public sensitisation. Officials reported that the prevalence of unregistered, fake and counterfeit products in the area has dropped significantly due to improved oversight, though challenges such as regulatory fraud and cloned products persist.
Adeyeye reiterated that offenders face severe legal sanctions and called for continued collaboration with security agencies, state governments and the public to report suspicious products. She emphasised that protecting Nigerians, particularly children, from these dangerous goods remains a top priority.
NAFDAC urged consumers to buy medicines and foods only from verified sources and to check for genuine NAFDAC registration numbers. Further enforcement actions and public alerts are expected as the agency continues its nationwide campaign against substandard and falsified products.
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