The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), working with security agencies, has uncovered a massive illegal operation involved in the sale and redistribution of fake, banned, and expired medicines in Ojo, Lagos State, leading to the arrest of two suspects.
The illegal activity was traced to a four-storey building containing 15 flats, which investigators said had been converted into a hub for revalidating expired pharmaceutical products and reintroducing them into the market. NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement and Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Fake and Substandard Products, Mr. Martins Iluyomade, described the discovery as a grave danger to public health and national security.
Iluyomade condemned the operation in strong terms, warning that the deliberate circulation of expired and prohibited drugs posed a deadly threat to Nigerians. He revealed that among the seized items were artemisinin-based monotherapies, banned in Nigeria for over a decade, as well as expired injections and tablets whose expiry dates had been wiped off and chemically altered for resale.
According to him, some of the recovered drugs, including diazepam injections that expired in 2024, were already being prepared for distribution. He linked the circulation of such products to rising treatment failures and avoidable deaths, noting that Nigeria continues to receive discontinued pharmaceuticals dumped from Europe. He added that empty tablets are often imported in bulk, repackaged into counterfeit labels, and sold nationwide.
Iluyomade pledged that both local and international collaborators involved in the illicit trade would be tracked and prosecuted in collaboration with global partners.
Confirming the arrests, the Divisional Police Officer in Ojo, CSP Omolola Opeifa, said two suspects were apprehended at the scene and remain in police custody.
Also reacting, the Chairman of Ojo Local Government, Princess Muhibat Rufai, expressed shock at the scale of the operation, which she said had allegedly gone on for more than 10 years. She disclosed that the building, which appeared to be under perpetual renovation for about 15 years, was used mainly at night for drug processing and distribution to pharmacies across Lagos.
Rufai added that many of the seized drugs dated back to 2022, with labels altered to falsely extend their shelf life. She confirmed that the building has been sealed and insisted that the surrounding community could not claim ignorance of the illegal activities. The property owner, she noted, is deceased, while his wife is reportedly preparing for his burial.