NAFDAC alleges assassination plot in Lagos market attack, vows crackdown on counterfeit trade

NAFDAC alleges assassination plot in Lagos market attack, vows crackdown on counterfeit trade

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has described Thursday’s violent assault on its enforcement team at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex as a coordinated assassination attempt targeting senior officials during a raid on counterfeit and substandard products.

The operation, led by Dr. Martins Iluyomade, Director of Investigation and Enforcement and Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs, was based on credible intelligence regarding the sale and distribution of fake and unwholesome goods at the market.

What began as a routine enforcement exercise escalated into a violent ambush when armed hoodlums stormed the scene, demanding to identify the Task Force chairman. The attackers vandalized approximately ten operational vehicles belonging to NAFDAC and supporting security agencies, with damages estimated at over ₦25 million.

“This was a premeditated attack,” Iluyomade stated during a press briefing in Lagos. “The market’s Chief Security Officer, who was accompanying us, issued a directive on their internal platform instructing cluster leaders to act. That was the signal for the lockdown and assault.”

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Prior to the attack, NAFDAC officials had confiscated several cartons of fake, banned, and unwholesome products. As tensions escalated, the gates were locked and stones were hurled at the enforcement team, forcing them to escape through three barricaded exits under siege.

“If not for the professionalism and calmness of the police and military personnel with us, there would have been casualties,” Iluyomade said.

NAFDAC condemned the violence and pledged to bring all perpetrators to justice. The agency recalled a similar incident in 2022, where an officer narrowly escaped death during an enforcement operation at the same market.

“No individual or group is above the law,” Iluyomade declared.

Describing the assault as an attack on national health security, NAFDAC Director-General Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye commended the Nigeria Police and military for ensuring the safety of agency personnel. She reaffirmed NAFDAC’s commitment to protecting public health and vowed that the agency would not be intimidated.

“NAFDAC remains fully alive to its responsibility of safeguarding the health of Nigerians. This incident will only strengthen our resolve to do more,” Adeyeye said.

To stem the influx of counterfeit products, Adeyeye revealed that NAFDAC has intensified surveillance at Nigeria’s ports and airports. The agency recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigeria Customs Service to enhance joint monitoring at points of entry.

“We are stepping up monitoring this season. With Customs, we have intercepted and are destroying over 80 containers of fake and substandard goods,” she disclosed, noting that some importers disguise pharmaceuticals as spare parts to evade detection.

While acknowledging that corruption at entry points remains a challenge, Adeyeye emphasized NAFDAC’s determination to dismantle the criminal networks behind fake drug importation.

NAFDAC alleges assassination plot in Lagos market attack, vows crackdown on counterfeit trade