The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has accused traders at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex of orchestrating a targeted attack to assassinate its senior officials during an operation against counterfeit products.
The agency said the raid, which took place on Thursday, was led by its Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, following credible intelligence on the sale and distribution of fake and substandard goods at the market.
According to NAFDAC, what began as a routine enforcement operation turned violent when armed hoodlums stormed the scene, demanding to identify the task force chairman before vandalising about ten operational vehicles worth over ₦25 million.
Iluyomade, who also chairs the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs, said the attack was “premeditated and coordinated from within the market,” alleging that the market’s chief security officer gave a signal that triggered the assault.
He told journalists that NAFDAC officials had already confiscated several cartons of fake and unwholesome products before the mob locked the gates and began pelting officers with stones. “If not for the professionalism of the police and military personnel with us, there would have been casualties,” he said.
The agency condemned the violence, vowing to identify and prosecute everyone involved. Iluyomade noted that this was not the first time NAFDAC officers had been attacked at the same market, recalling a similar incident in 2022.
NAFDAC’s Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, described the attack as “an assault on national health security,” commending security operatives for ensuring the safety of its staff. She reaffirmed that the agency would not be intimidated in its mission to safeguard public health.
She added that NAFDAC is intensifying surveillance at ports and border points to intercept fake goods and revealed that the agency, in partnership with the Nigeria Customs Service, is currently destroying over 80 containers of counterfeit and substandard products.
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