Nigeria’s battle against counterfeit and substandard products may be entering a more troubling phase, with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) raising concerns that some Chinese nationals allegedly involved in counterfeiting have moved beyond importing fake products to establishing production and distribution networks within the country.
The development, according to the agency, is making it increasingly difficult to tackle the flow of fake products into the Nigerian market.
NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, disclosed this in an interview in Lagos State on Monday.
Iluyomade said investigations by the agency had uncovered what he described as a new pattern in the counterfeit trade, where individuals previously operating outside Nigeria now have plants, logistics companies and distribution channels within the country.
He explained that the development means counterfeit products can now be produced, moved and distributed locally without the operators having to depend entirely on shipments from abroad.
“Before, to fake a product, you needed to go to China to bring it. Now, you don’t need to go. They are here (in Nigeria) with us,” he said.
According to him, the operators monitor products that are in demand in Nigeria, send information or samples to China and subsequently bring counterfeit versions into the country for distribution through local networks.
From imported fakes to local networks
Iluyomade said the discovery of Chinese-owned logistics companies allegedly being used to facilitate the movement of counterfeit goods had added another layer of complexity to NAFDAC’s enforcement efforts.
“Now, they are the ones who will identify the product that will be moving, send it to their country (China), and then come here and distribute it to our people (Nigerians) without having to travel,” he explained.
The NAFDAC official described the development as a “new trend” contributing to the growing seriousness of Nigeria’s counterfeit products crisis.
He added that the agency had begun shutting down logistics companies identified during its investigations.
The revelation comes amid growing concern over the availability of fake medicines, food products, cosmetics and other consumer goods in the Nigerian market.
Fake toothpaste becomes a major concern
One area that has recently attracted NAFDAC’s attention is counterfeit toothpaste.
Iluyomade confirmed that the agency had received complaints through its official channels concerning suspected fake versions of popular toothpaste brands, including Oral-B and Colgate.
He said investigations into the complaints had already produced arrests and seizures across several parts of the country.
“We have an intelligence report on (fake toothpastes) and have been working on it: we’ve made a lot of arrests and seizures, both in Kano and Sokoto states, Delta State and Onitsha (in Anambra State),” he said.
The enforcement director further disclosed that two individuals were currently being prosecuted for allegedly importing counterfeit toothpaste brands.
The agency’s activities, he said, are part of a wider effort to disrupt the networks responsible for manufacturing, importing and distributing fake products.
NAFDAC records 64 convictions
Beyond seizures and arrests, Iluyomade said NAFDAC had also recorded a significant increase in successful prosecutions.
He disclosed that the agency secured 64 convictions between June 2025 and June 2026, describing the figure as the highest number of convictions recorded by NAFDAC in its history.
The enforcement chief cited a case in which a judge sentenced an operator of a laboratory involved in producing counterfeit drinks to five years in prison.
“In December, a judge handed five years of imprisonment to one lab that counterfeited drinks, convicting them on all eight grounds,” he said.
The agency’s position is that stronger enforcement and successful prosecution are necessary to deter individuals and networks involved in the counterfeit trade.
A threat beyond consumers
The growing counterfeit crisis has also triggered concern beyond the immediate health risks faced by consumers.
Manufacturers, medical experts and economists have increasingly warned that the proliferation of fake and substandard products is putting legitimate businesses under pressure while potentially exposing consumers to serious health risks.
For manufacturers, counterfeit products compete unfairly with genuine goods, undermine consumer confidence and can erode investments made in producing regulated products.
For consumers, however, the consequences can be even more severe, particularly where counterfeit medicines, food products or personal-care items are involved.
The economic impact is also significant, as legitimate businesses lose market share while the circulation of unregulated products weakens confidence in the wider marketplace.
NAFDAC’s latest disclosure therefore points to a problem that is no longer simply about fake products crossing Nigeria’s borders.
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The agency’s findings suggest that some counterfeit networks may now be becoming more deeply embedded within the domestic supply chain — from sourcing and production to logistics and distribution.
That shift could make enforcement more complicated, but NAFDAC says its investigations and prosecutions are already targeting the networks behind the trade.
For Nigerian consumers, the warning is a reminder that a product that looks genuine on a shop shelf may not necessarily be what it claims to be — and that the fight against counterfeit goods may increasingly have to be fought within Nigeria’s own commercial ecosystem.