Food is the largest category of unsafe products being pulled from Nigerian shelves. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control inspected 6,233 facilities across all 36 states and the FCT between May and July 2026 and removed 7,210 non-compliant products from circulation, The ICIR reported on 8 September 2026. Food and water accounted for 3,633 of them, or 50.4% of the total.
Food Leads Every Other Category
Food and water outnumbered every other product group by a wide margin. Drugs and herbal products made up 2,459 of the removals, cosmetics 911, medical devices 183, chemicals 21 and vaccines and biologicals 3. Across the three months, the agency removed roughly 2,400 products a month.
Fake Rice and Refilled Water
Two cases show what counterfeit food looks like in practice. In June 2026, NAFDAC confiscated 1,600 bags of counterfeit rice valued at ₦5 billion in Nasarawa State, according to The ICIR. The agency also caught three companies illegally refilling branded 19-litre water dispenser bottles supplied to hotels and supermarkets, Vanguard reported on 7 September 2026.
Vanguard also reported that fake drinks accounted for more than half of NAFDAC's court convictions. The agency has secured 64 convictions, and The ICIR reported sentences ranging from one to seven years. NAFDAC said it has seized 137 truckloads of counterfeit goods valued at ₦1.5 trillion in operations across Lagos, Onitsha and Aba.
The Limits of NAFDAC's Reach
Director-General Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye urged the public to report counterfeiters. "Fakers are not ghosts; they exist within our communities, neighbourhoods, and business premises," she said, as quoted by Vanguard.
The agency also clarified the boundary of its mandate. NAFDAC regulates "processed and packaged food products," while "unbranded and unpackaged products" sold in open markets fall under state and local authorities, The ICIR reported. That leaves much of what Lagos households buy loose from market stalls, including grains, garri, pepper and palm oil sold by the measure, outside NAFDAC's direct supervision.
Why It Matters for Shoppers
Counterfeit staples often undercut genuine products on price, which makes them most attractive to households under the most pressure. A bag of fake rice is a financial loss and a health risk at the same time.
FoodPrices Nigeria records verified prices from Lagos markets, and shoppers comparing prices should treat an unusually cheap branded product as a reason for caution rather than a bargain.