Authorities intercepted a suspicious shipping container en route to Lagos. The shippers had falsely declared its contents as spare parts, but inside they discovered something far more dangerous: 277 cartons of counterfeit malaria medicines valued at over ₦1.2 billion.
On Monday, the agency behind the operation, Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), confirmed the shipment had been tracked to and seized from a warehouse in the Ilasa-Oshodi area of Lagos. The drugs, unregistered Malamal Forte tablets, had been smuggled in from Shanxi Tianyuan Pharmaceuticals Group in China.
The seizure isn’t just about paperwork or import violations. Malaria remains one of Nigeria’s deadliest diseases, killing thousands each year. A fake pill isn’t just ineffective but can be a death sentence for someone who needs urgent treatment.
“Counterfeit or falsified medicines endanger people’s health because they do not comply with regulatory standards, which means the safety, quality, and efficacy of these products are not ensured,” NAFDAC warned. “The use of counterfeit medicines often fails to treat diseases effectively, l ading to serious health consequences, including death.”
A Pattern of Fake Medicines
The raid is only the latest in a string of cases exposing how deep counterfeit drugs run in Nigeria’s supply chain. Just recently, Ajanta Pharma, an Indian drugmaker, alerted NAFDAC that counterfeit versions of its Aflotin 20/120 malaria tablets had entered the Nigerian market.
The fakes resembled Ajanta’s packaging, but subtle discrepancies gave them away: the incorrect overprinting style, mismatched artwork, and a suspicious batch number. Genuine Aflotin, which combines Artemether and Lumefantrine, is widely used to treat uncomplicated malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. However, the counterfeit batch circulating in Nigeria lacked all the safeguards, posing only a risk.
NAFDAC has since issued a public alert (No. 08/2025), urging distributors, pharmacies, and caregivers to check their stock carefully and report any suspicious packs.
A Bigger Fight Against Fake Drugs
Just a few months earlier, NAFDAC destroyed ₦100 billion worth of fake medicines seized from Lagos’ Idumota Open Drug Market. That crackdown lasted three weeks, cleared out 27 truckloads of products, and forced the closure of more than 3,000 shops.
The problem isn’t limited to malaria drugs. NAFDAC has also flagged counterfeit Postinor2 contraceptives, falsified Oxytocin injections, and even everyday items like powdered milk. Each public alert is a reminder of how widespread the counterfeit trade has become.
Customs officers are also stepping in. In August, the Nigeria Customs Service handed over ₦3.77 billion worth of expired drugs, including codeine syrup, tramadol, and amlodipine, to NAFDAC under a joint effort to block harmful medicines from reaching the market.
Why It Matters for Nigerians
Behind the numbers, ₦1.2 billion here, ₦100 billion there, are ordinary people who risk walking into a pharmacy, buying what looks like trusted medication, and unknowingly taking poison or chalk.
That’s why NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, is pressing hard on enforcement. With backing from the Presidency and the Federal Ministry of Health, she says the agency will “intensify operations to rid the country of harmful and substandard products.”
But the fight is huge. Nigeria’s drug market is vast, its borders leaky, and the demand for cheap medicines relentless. Counterfeiters see easy money; regulators face an endless chase.
This raid shows the threat is far from over. For consumers, the message is simple: stay alert, buy only from licensed outlets, and report anything suspicious. For authorities, it’s another battle in what has become a long, grinding war against counterfeit drugs in Nigeria.
