Regulatory Affairs
NAFDAC Destroys Seized Products Worth ₦2.6bn in Rivers State
NAFDAC has destroyed seized products valued at ₦2.6 billion in Port Harcourt, including medicines, expired food products and chemicals intercepted by the Nigeria Customs Service at Onne Port between 2025 and 2026.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed seized products valued at ₦2.6 billion in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following their interception by the Nigeria Customs Service at Onne Port between 2025 and 2026.
The destruction exercise took place on Friday, 16 October 2026. The products reportedly included medicines, expired tomato paste, biscuits and chemicals considered unsuitable for consumption or use.
According to a report by Punch Newspapers, Dr Martins Iluyomade, Director of Investigation and Enforcement at NAFDAC and Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods in Nigeria, announced the exercise on behalf of the agency’s Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye.
Iluyomade said the exercise reflected cooperation between NAFDAC and the Nigeria Customs Service in preventing unsafe and non-compliant products from entering or re-entering the Nigerian market.
Customs interception preceded destruction
The products were reportedly intercepted at Onne Port over a period spanning 2025 and 2026. Their eventual destruction followed a process that Iluyomade said began in 2025.
He acknowledged challenges in completing the process and credited cooperation between the two agencies with facilitating the handover and disposal of the seized goods.
The exercise was described as the first phase of the destruction, with further consignments expected to be disposed of in subsequent operations.
However, the available reports do not provide a complete inventory of the medicines and other products destroyed, the number of containers involved, or a breakdown of the estimated ₦2.6 billion valuation.
Why the destruction matters for public health
The destruction of seized medicines and unwholesome products is an important component of regulatory enforcement. Medicines that are falsified, improperly stored, expired or otherwise non-compliant can expose patients to avoidable risks and undermine confidence in healthcare.
For medicines, the risks depend on the nature of the defect. A falsified product may contain the wrong ingredient or an incorrect amount of an active pharmaceutical ingredient, while an expired or improperly stored medicine may no longer meet the required quality standards.
Unsafe food products and certain chemicals can also pose risks to consumers when they fail to meet applicable safety and quality requirements.
Nevertheless, the reported destruction should not be interpreted as evidence that every product in the consignment was counterfeit. The published accounts refer to a mixture of medicines, expired food products and chemicals, but do not provide a product-by-product classification or the results of laboratory testing.
What the operation means for pharmaceutical regulation
The reported collaboration between NAFDAC and the Nigeria Customs Service highlights the role of coordinated border enforcement in controlling the entry of non-compliant pharmaceutical and other regulated products.
Effective enforcement also depends on timely examination of intercepted consignments, appropriate regulatory decisions, secure handling and documented destruction. These measures help reduce the possibility of seized goods being diverted into commercial distribution.
For pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, the development reinforces the importance of sourcing medicines through authorised supply chains, checking product integrity and reporting suspected falsified or substandard products to the relevant authorities.
Questions that remain unanswered
Although the reported value of the destroyed goods is substantial, further details are needed to assess the operation’s implications for medicine safety and regulatory performance.
These include the number of pharmaceutical products involved, their therapeutic categories, the grounds for seizure, whether laboratory testing confirmed quality defects, and the proportion of the total valuation attributable to medicines rather than food products and chemicals.
NAFDAC and the Nigeria Customs Service could also clarify how many consignments remain awaiting examination or destruction and what measures are being taken to prevent similar products from entering the supply chain.
The reported destruction of ₦2.6 billion worth of seized products in Rivers State highlights the importance of sustained regulatory enforcement and inter-agency cooperation in protecting public health.
For the pharmaceutical sector, the key issue extends beyond the value of the goods destroyed. Greater transparency about the medicines involved, the reasons for their seizure and the outcome of regulatory investigations would help pharmacists, healthcare professionals and the public better understand the operation’s significance.