Nigeria’s Fake Products Problem: What Is NAFDAC Doing to Stop the Flood?

Nigeria’s Fake Products Problem: What Is NAFDAC Doing to Stop the Flood?

From medicines and food to cosmetics and other everyday consumer products, counterfeit and unregistered products continue to find their way into Nigeria’s markets, raising a difficult question: how effective is the country’s fight against fake products?

The problem is no longer limited to a few suspicious products sold in obscure markets. Counterfeit, falsified, substandard and unregistered products can enter formal and informal supply chains, making it increasingly difficult for consumers to know whether what they are buying is genuine.

For the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the challenge cuts across much more than drug regulation. The agency is responsible for regulating food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals and other products under its mandate, including their manufacture, importation, distribution, advertisement and sale. And the agency’s own alerts show how broad the problem has become.

In 2025 alone, NAFDAC issued alerts involving counterfeit and falsified medicines, unregistered cosmetics and food products. Its public-alert archive, for example, records warnings over counterfeit Postinor-2, unregistered oxytocin, counterfeit and falsified medicines, an unregistered soap and counterfeit Cowbell “Our Milk” milk. These cases point to a problem that extends beyond the pharmaceutical sector.

The problem is bigger than fake drugs. The phrase “fake products” often immediately brings medicines to mind, but consumers can encounter regulatory violations across several categories.

A product may be counterfeit, meaning it deliberately imitates another product or brand. It may be falsified, where information about its identity or source has been deliberately misrepresented. It may also be unregistered, expired, adulterated or substandard. The distinction matters because the risks are different, but the underlying problem is similar: consumers may be unable to determine whether a product meets the quality and safety standards they are paying for.

NAFDAC’s post-market surveillance activities demonstrate why this remains a concern. The agency’s surveillance report says that when products fail quality checks, it can direct recalls, issue public alerts, conduct surveillance and mop up affected batches from the market, while also inspecting storage and distribution facilities. But the scale of Nigeria’s consumer market makes enforcement a difficult task.

So, what is NAFDAC doing? NAFDAC’s response is built around several layers of regulation and enforcement.

1. Market surveillance and investigations

The agency conducts post-market surveillance to identify products that do not meet regulatory requirements. Investigations can lead to recalls, public alerts, seizures and other enforcement actions. NAFDAC’s 2024–2027 strategic plan sets a target of increasing the proportion of investigations resulting in enforcement action to 70 per cent by 2026 and 80 per cent by 2027. It also targets 90 per cent inspection coverage of relevant foreign and local facilities by 2026.

2. Traceability

One of the more important developments is NAFDAC’s move towards pharmaceutical product traceability. The Pharmaceutical Products (Traceability) Regulations 2024 establish a framework for tracking medicines and related products manufactured, imported, exported, advertised, sold, distributed or used in Nigeria.

The regulations require unique identification of drug and related-product trade items, creating the basis for following products through the supply chain. This is potentially significant because the fight against counterfeit products cannot stop at the point where a fake product is discovered. Authorities also need to know where it came from, who handled it and how it entered the market.

3. Public alerts and recalls

NAFDAC regularly publishes safety alerts and recall notices when products are identified as counterfeit, falsified, unregistered or otherwise unsafe. In one example, the agency investigated an unregistered product after receiving a consumer complaint and subsequently directed its zonal and state offices to conduct surveillance and remove the product from circulation. The agency also maintains a blacklist of companies as part of its enforcement efforts against unsafe and non-compliant products.

4. Consumer reporting

NAFDAC is also trying to make consumers part of the surveillance system. Its Greenbook platform provides a structured channel for reporting suspected substandard, falsified or unregistered medical products. Consumers can provide information about where a product was purchased and upload photographs or supporting documents to assist investigations. The agency has also launched an improved Med Safety App to strengthen reporting of substandard and falsified medical products and adverse drug reactions.

But enforcement alone may not be enough. The persistence of fake products raises a larger question about whether Nigeria’s regulatory system is moving fast enough to match the sophistication of counterfeiters. A raid can remove products from a warehouse. A public alert can warn consumers about a particular batch. A prosecution can punish a distributor.

But none of these, on their own, eliminates the supply chain that allows another counterfeit product to enter the market. That is why traceability, border control, intelligence-led enforcement, stronger coordination with other government agencies and public awareness are increasingly important. NAFDAC’s own strategic plan recognises this. Beyond inspections and investigations, it includes a target to enforce the ban on the sale of pharmaceutical products in open drug markets, with the stated objective of closing 75 per cent of open drug markets by 2026 and 100 per cent by 2027.

The bigger test, however, is whether these targets translate into sustained changes in the market. The consumer remains the last line of defense. For the average Nigerian, the counterfeit market creates a difficult reality: the consumer is often expected to distinguish a genuine product from a fake one even when the packaging may look convincing. That makes public education an important part of regulation.

NAFDAC advises consumers and other actors in the supply chain to be vigilant and to report suspected substandard and falsified products. Its reporting systems are designed to allow the agency to receive information from consumers, pharmacies, wholesalers and other sources. But the burden cannot ultimately rest on consumers.

If fake products can repeatedly enter the market, the fundamental question is not only whether consumers know how to identify them. It is whether Nigeria’s regulatory and supply-chain systems are strong enough to prevent them from reaching consumers in the first place. NAFDAC has expanded surveillance, enforcement, public alerts, reporting mechanisms and pharmaceutical traceability. The agency’s current strategy also sets measurable targets for inspections, enforcement and the closure of open drug markets.

The question now is one of implementation.
Nigeria does not only need to know where fake products are found. It needs to know how they got there, who put them there, who profits from them and why they keep finding their way back into the market.

Blessing Anolaba
Editorial & Creative Correspondent
A storyteller and journalist passionate about telling stories for policy change and impact.