LAGOS, — Nigeria’s food and drug regulator, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), says it has uncovered an illegal factory producing counterfeit “Goya oil” inside Lagos’ Oke-Arin Market and dismantled what it described as a major syndicate involved in the production and distribution of fake alcoholic drinks, warning that both operations pose serious public-health risks.
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement and Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Fake and Substandard Products, Martins Iluyomade, said the discoveries followed weeks of surveillance and enforcement operations.
Iluyomade said operatives found a makeshift production line in Oke-Arin where counterfeit “Goya oil” was being manufactured locally and repackaged for sale, including supplies allegedly targeted at religious users. He said the original product is imported through an authorised company and remains available in circulation, but counterfeiters had moved to replicate it within the market.
According to him, the fake oil was made using crude methods, including heating palm oil and adding chemicals such as chlorine, with refilling equipment and large quantities of empty containers recovered on site.
In a specific warning to churches and prayer houses, Iluyomade said genuine “Goya oil” is not packaged in plastic (PET) bottles, urging Nigerians to treat any “Goya oil” sold in PET as counterfeit and report sellers to the nearest NAFDAC office. He cautioned that ingesting such products—sometimes encouraged in religious settings—could amount to consuming harmful substances.
NAFDAC said its enforcement approach is to cut off supply “at the source,” arguing that shutting production lines will dry up availability without punishing traders who may have unknowingly stocked counterfeit goods.
On counterfeit alcohol, Iluyomade said the agency arrested a suspect, identified as Moses Nelson, in the Badagry area and charged him to court, alleging he operated a distribution chain supplying fake versions of “virtually every major brand” into Lagos markets.
Public-health authorities have long warned that counterfeit spirits may contain toxic adulterants. The U.S. CDC notes that methanol exposure can cause metabolic acidosis, blindness and death—risks that become acute when industrial chemicals are substituted for consumable alcohol. NAFDAC has also advised consumers to scrutinise packaging integrity—labels, seals and other authenticity markers—and to avoid unverified supply channels.
