The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raided a Covert warehouses used to stockpile counterfeit and outlawed medicines at the Trade Fair Market in Lagos.
The counterfeit items included anti-malarial drugs, cerebral malaria injections, antibiotics, postinor, and anagin products—some of which have been banned in Nigeria for nearly 15 years.
The items were stored in a three-story building disguised as a spare parts warehouse.
The agency confirmed that more than 10 million doses of fake drugs, including critical emergency medicines, were intercepted during the raid, which officials described as “one of the worst counterfeit medicine operations in recent years”.
Addressing reporters in Lagos, the agency’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement and Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Fake and Substandard Products, Mr Martins Iluyomade, said the raid was triggered by intelligence gathered during a training session held on 3 February, which flagged suspicious movements around the Trade Fair–Navy axis.
“Acting on information from that meeting, our team visited the location and found multiple warehouse structures built like residential houses but used solely for storage. The area is deserted, not somewhere people normally go, which is likely why they operated undetected,” Iluyomade said.
A sweep of the buildings uncovered vast stockpiles of counterfeit medicines, including injectable anti-malarials, antibiotics, sachet drugs and blister packs, alongside banned substances such as Analgin, outlawed in Nigeria for more than 15 years.
“What we discovered should make every Nigerian cry. These were not just fake vitamins. These were life-saving medicines — injections used in emergency cases like cerebral malaria. When fake injections are used in such situations, it becomes a death sentence.
“It is extremely difficult to distinguish the fake from the original. Even product owners sometimes struggle to tell the difference. That is how sophisticated these criminals have become,” he stated.
Iluyomade disclosed that the seized products, estimated to be worth over ₦3 billion, were evacuated in eight trailers loaded with assorted fake medicines and cosmetics.
“This is a major breakthrough for Nigeria and Nigerians. These products will not enter circulation,” he said.
According to him, investigations indicate that the operation was run by an international criminal network.
“They clone original products. They take samples of genuine medicines, reproduce them abroad to near perfection, and push them back into our distribution chain. This is organised crime involving collaborators both inside and outside Nigeria,” he said.
Warning that the country’s healthcare system is under serious threat, Iluyomade added: “The country is under siege by people who want to make money at all costs, even if it means killing fellow citizens and destroying reputable brands.”
He further revealed that several pharmaceutical manufacturers had raised alarms over counterfeit versions of their products circulating for months, noting that traffickers often release supplies in small quantities to stay below regulatory radar.
“If a drug is unusually cheap, don’t think you’ve found a bargain. It could cost you your life,” he warned.
