The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed two Chinese-owned supermarkets in the Jabi District and eight cosmetics shops in Wuse Market, Abuja, for gross violations of Nigerian laws governing the sale, distribution, and labelling of regulated products.
This was disclosed in a press statement issued on Friday and signed by the agency’s Deputy Director of Public Relations and Protocol, Adegboyega Osiyemi.
According to the statement, acting on the directive of NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the agency’s enforcement team confiscated and evacuated unregistered and illegal products valued at over ₦170 million during the operation.
The enforcement exercise was carried out by the Investigation and Enforcement Directorate of NAFDAC in collaboration with the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit and Substandard Medicines and Unwholesome Processed Foods, led by Assistant Chief Regulatory Officer, Musa Embugushiki.
The agency stated: “The supermarkets, located on Mike Akhigbe Way and Ebitu Ukiwe Street in the Jabi District of Abuja, were sealed following credible consumer complaints and subsequent surveillance. Investigations confirmed that the outlets were selling unregistered food products labelled exclusively in Chinese, contravening NAFDAC’s labelling regulations which require English-language information for all products sold in Nigeria.”
Despite initial denials from a foreign national at one of the stores claiming the supermarket was not yet operational, the enforcement team confirmed that the facility was actively selling unregistered regulated products.
In a related operation, eight cosmetics shops in Wuse Market were also sealed for selling banned, expired, and unregistered cosmetics, aphrodisiacs, and aesthetic medicines.
NAFDAC revealed that some individuals had been illegally posing as dermatologists and pharmacists, selling harmful substances to unsuspecting consumers under the guise of offering products for body enhancement, skin whitening, aesthetic improvements for women, and male sexual performance.
Seized items included a wide range of unapproved and potentially dangerous products such as Wenicks Capsules, Maxman Capsules, Boobs Enlargement Pills, Curvy Weight Gain Supplements, Skin Whitening Vitamin Gummies, Glutathione Whitening Gummies, White Doll, Dr. Gallery Plus, Maiz Zaki Syrup, Dr. Nafisa Herbal Medicine, Dynewell Syrup, and White Blinks, among others.
The statement emphasized NAFDAC’s commitment to safeguarding public health, quoting Prof. Adeyeye as saying: “The agency remains resolute in its mandate to protect Nigerians from exposure to dangerous chemicals and toxic substances, which pose serious health risks including skin cancer, kidney damage, memory loss, and irritability.”
NAFDAC further advised consumers to purchase only NAFDAC-registered products, and urged foreign nationals and investors seeking to import or market products in Nigeria to visit NAFDAC offices for proper regulatory guidance and product registration.
