Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has disclosed that cosmetics, food, and beverages collectively account for more than half of all counterfeit products intercepted through its enforcement operations nationwide, painting a troubling picture of the scale of product falsification threatening public health in the country.

The disclosure was made by NAFDAC Director-General Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye at a news conference organised to mark the 2026 International Anti-Counterfeit Month, observed globally every June. Adeyeye, represented at the event by the agency’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Dr. Martins Iluyomade, said the figures were drawn from the volume of fake and substandard goods seized during various enforcement exercises across the country.

According to the agency, cosmetics rank as the single most counterfeited product category in Nigeria, with food and beverages following closely behind, together constituting over 50 percent of all seizures recorded by NAFDAC. Pharmaceutical products were also identified as accounting for a significant share of the agency’s enforcement activities, with fake medicines containing incorrect ingredients, insufficient active pharmaceutical substances, or no active ingredients at all continuing to circulate in Nigerian markets.

The agency described the proliferation of such products as a grave threat not only to individual consumers but to national public health broadly.

NAFDAC also raised the alarm over the increasingly sophisticated methods being deployed by counterfeiters to infiltrate Nigeria’s markets. The agency highlighted how e-commerce platforms and digital procurement systems now allow individuals to order fake products directly from foreign manufacturers predominantly in Asia without leaving the country. Counterfeiters have also been found to exploit the cargo consolidation system known as groupage, whereby multiple importers share a single shipping container, making it considerably harder for regulators to identify and isolate suspicious consignments amid legitimate cargo.

Adding to the challenge, the agency warned that counterfeit products are increasingly being manufactured to mimic the packaging of genuine brands with such precision that even retailers struggle to distinguish fakes from authentic goods. In response, NAFDAC said it has deepened collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security and regulatory agencies, while also working to close loopholes in verification systems that are meant to help manufacturers confirm whether imported shipments genuinely originated from their facilities. Dr. Iluyomade urged Nigerians to purchase only from authorised distributors and cautioned against suspiciously low-priced goods.

The agency also used the occasion to commend the judiciary for the pace of convictions in drug-related prosecutions. The most recent case cited involved an individual sentenced to 40 years in prison in a matter that began in November of last year and was concluded in February, a development NAFDAC described as a significant deterrent. Prof. Adeyeye called on all stakeholders including government institutions, manufacturers, importers, logistics companies, healthcare professionals, the media, and ordinary consumers to play active roles in the collective effort to safeguard public health and rid Nigeria’s markets of counterfeit products.