NAFDAC condemns violent attack on officials during enforcement operation

Abdullateef Fowewe

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has strongly condemned the violent assault on its officials during an enforcement exercise at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex on October 30, 2025.

The operation according to a statement on Tuesday by the agency aimed to “safeguard public health by curbing the sale and distribution of fake, substandard, and unwholesome regulated products.”

Led by the Director of Investigation and Enforcement (I&E) and Chairman of the Federal Task Force, the operation started peacefully. However, it was violently disrupted by a group of hired thugs armed with dangerous weapons who demanded the Director’s identity and proceeded to vandalise about ten operational vehicles belonging to NAFDAC and other security agencies.

NAFDAC revealed that “credible intelligence suggests that the assault was premeditated and intended to harm senior NAFDAC officials, including the Director (I&E).”

Prior to the attack, market security as claimed by NAFDAC allegedly instructed cluster leaders to lock the gates, trapping the enforcement team inside. At the time, several cartons of counterfeit and banned products had been confiscated under the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods Act.

The agency praised the “Nigeria Police and Military personnel who displayed professionalism and restraint, ensuring the safety of all officers on duty.”

NAFDAC’s Director-General, Professior Mojisola Adeyeye, emphasised the agency’s resolve: “All individuals involved in this criminal act will be brought to justice. NAFDAC will not be intimidated or deterred from fulfilling its mandate of safeguarding the health of the nation.”