PUNCH reports that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has raised alarm over what it describes as an increasingly localised counterfeit-goods network involving some Chinese operators in Nigeria.
According to the agency’s enforcement director, investigations indicate that counterfeiters who previously relied mainly on overseas production are establishing local plants and logistics networks.
NAFDAC says the problem cuts across consumer products and regulated goods, with fake toothpaste, beverages and other products among items under investigation. The allegation concerns identified counterfeit operators and should not be generalised to Chinese businesses or nationals in Nigeria.
The Times Nigeria quoted the enforcement official saying, “They are here with us,” while another report repeated NAFDAC’s claim that some operators had established “plants and logistics channels inside the country.”
Echotitbits take: Counterfeiting is ultimately a supply-chain enforcement problem. Nigeria needs stronger product authentication, port and warehouse intelligence, prosecution of local collaborators and rapid consumer-reporting channels, while ensuring enforcement is evidence-based and not nationality-based.
Source: PUNCH – https://punchng.com/counterfeit-crisis-nafdac-blames-chinese-dealers-amid-backlash/, September 8, 2026.
Photo Credit: Premium Times
