The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), on Thursday, April 18, 2024, raided Sahad stores, a popular supermarket in Abuja, for selling counterfeit products.

NAFDAC also raided H-Medix in Wuse 2 and Gwarinpa, 3rd Avenue, as well as Utako market, all in Abuja on Thursday.

During the raid at H-Medix, the agency discovered and seized counterfeit cosmetics, while fake drugs were also confiscated at Utako market.

The NAFDAC Head of Investigation and Enforcement/Federal Taskforce in Abuja, Embugushiki-Musa Godiya, said the enforcement team also raided Kugbo market in Nyanya and Mararaba axis in Nasarawa State on Tuesday, April 16.

He told journalists that the team equally raided Wuse Market on Wednesday, where goods worth millions were seized.

Godiya said the three-day operation was carried out based on an intelligent report NAFDAC gathered from Nigerians.

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He said: “We have been able to successfully recover some of the counterfeit products and evacuate them for destruction. Our concern is one of the products, purported to be NIVEA NAFDAC regulated product, but it is not.

“The most shocking to me is that such substandard NIVEA cream and other cosmetics are even more expensive than the ones approved by NAFDAC, this is criminal.

“The market value of what we have seen so far for drug hawking is N5 million, and for the NIVEA products, other cosmetics and other products including Jik bleach, Harpic toilet cleaner and Airwick room freshener, all counterfeit in large quantity, valued at N45 million.

“The total value of all the goods seized during the operation is N50 million.”

The NAFDAC official noted that such counterfeit products could cause cancer to the body, damage the kidney, and rashes.

Godiya urged perpetrators of such acts to desist from it, stressing that “NAFDAC enforcement will make sure it gets to the root of the syndicate that imports these products.”

He said the agency has zero tolerance for compromised standards, adding: “NAFDAC will arrest whosoever is involved in this crime.”

He called on Nigerians to be careful with the kind of products they buy and always watch out for NAFDAC registration number before they buy the products.

Godiya also urged Nigerians to stop partronising drug hawkers for their safety, saying: “People must shine their eyes before they purchase any product.”

The Star