The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has seized banned, expired, and unregistered products valued at over ₦1.5 billion in a major raid at the Lagos Trade Fair Market.
The operation, led by NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, focused on the cosmetics section, where multiple warehouses were found stocked with products lacking proper registration or expiry date markings.
During the raid, more than a trailer load of such products was seized, and a second trailer carrying cosmetics was intercepted. The driver of this second vehicle fled, but the authorities secured the truck.
NAFDAC described this action as one of its largest recent seizures aimed at protecting public health by removing unsafe goods from the market.
Iluyomade explained that the raid followed intelligence on a criminal network involved in counterfeiting food and chemical products.
He emphasized that the agency uses both visual inspection and laboratory testing to ensure product safety and noted that illicit traders often bypass registration processes, endangering consumers.
Warehouse owners connected to the seized goods have been invited for investigation and may face legal consequences if found guilty.
NAFDAC reiterated its commitment to ensuring only safe, approved, and properly labeled products circulate in Nigerian markets, highlighting that regulating food and drug safety is a matter of national security.
This enforcement reflects ongoing nationwide efforts by NAFDAC to combat the distribution of fake, expired, and banned products, confirming the agency’s dedication to safeguarding Nigerian consumers’ health
