NAFDAC Alleges Assassination Attempt on Director of Enforcement at Lagos Trade Fair

An operation by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) at the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos on Thursday, 30 October 2025, turned violent when hired thugs reportedly launched an attack on the team which left five members injured.

According to NAFDAC, it was a coordinated attack aimed at assassinating the Director of Investigation and Enforcement, who also serves as Chairman of the Federal Task Force on fake and substandard products.

About 10 operational vehicles belonging to the agency and other security agencies worth over ₦25 billion were also vandalised by the mercenaries.

The agency made this known during a press briefing by the Director General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, who was represented by the Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Dr. Martins Iluyomade in Lagos on Saturday.

The NAFDAC team, acting on credible intelligence regarding the sale and distribution of fake, substandard and unwholesome products, had commenced a market control operation at the complex located along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway.

Iluyomade disclosed that the exercise began peacefully until armed hoodlums stormed the area, demanding the identity of the Task Force Chairman and disrupting the operation.

He explained that the attack escalated after the enforcement team had successfully confiscated several cartons of fake, banned and unwholesome products in violation of the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act Cap. C.34 LFN 2004.

The agency stated that intelligence reports had earlier revealed that certain individuals in the market were uncomfortable with its consistent enforcement activities and planned to resist violently, alleging that the market’s Chief Security Officer (CSO), who was monitoring the operation, ordered that the gates be locked after circulating directives on the traders’ communication platforms.

“From a reliable intelligence this was pre-planned and also a calculated attempt to assassinate the Director (I&E) with some other NAFDAC Staff. The market was abruptly locked and the gates shut after a directive from the CSO of the market, who was monitoring the operation, was circulated on their platform directing all cluster leaders to act immediately

“When they realised that we had already loaded four trucks with seized products, they launched the assault to prevent us from leaving with the evidence.

“We did such raid 2023, in Aba, and again in 2024, in Onitsha. What we saw was overwhelming. And the things we seized and destroyed has never been done in the history of this country. This is the first time we are coming close to that in Lagos.

“So the story that has been going around is that this director did it in Aba and Onitsha. Now he’s coming to Lagos to do same. This is the reason for that attack. So, we were not surprised when the hoodlums came and were asking and looking for the Director. ‘We heard he is here’. Thank God they couldn’t recognise who they were looking for”.

Recalling similar incidents, the Director noted that NAFDAC officials had previously come under violent attacks at the same market. “In 2022, one of our officers was almost killed in this same Trade Fair market. They tore his clothes and beat him mercilessly until he resigned out of fear. Those arrested at that time were prosecuted”.

Iluyomade also clarified the role of the Nigerian Police and military during the operation, emphasising that their presence was not for combat but to provide logistics and deterrence.

He expressed gratitude to the Nigeria Police and the military for their composure and professionalism under intense provocation, noting that their intervention prevented loss of life.

“We requested military trucks to move the confiscated goods because we had intelligence that there might be an organised resistance. The military acted with absolute professionalism and ensured our safe evacuation. Imagine if they were not there. We would have been surrounded and we don’t know what might have happened. The hoodlums were already stationed at all three exit gates. It was a narrow escape”, he recounted.

Speaking further, the Director condemned false narratives circulating on social media alleging that seized fake products were being resold. He also criticised sections of the media for failing to verify information before publication, calling it “disheartening and unprofessional.”

He continued: “Just four weeks ago, we carried out a destruction exercise in Ibadan, witnessed by journalists, where we destroyed seized products from previous raids. We keep detailed inventories of every confiscated item and its destruction process.

“We are daily risking our lives to safeguard the health of Nigerians. Yet, some journalists, instead of supporting the fight against fake products, choose to misrepresent facts on television.”

He warned that the growing network of counterfeit product dealers posed a grave threat to public health and the national economy.

“These people are manufacturing fake versions of other companies’ products,” he lamented. “When you fake a product, you destroy the brand, kill the legitimate business, and endanger lives. This is economic sabotage of the highest order. Yet, they see enforcement as persecution.”

The Director said the investigation into the Trade Fair incident was ongoing, with NAFDAC determined to identify and prosecute those responsible. “We have not made any arrests yet because we want to ensure that we apprehend the right culprits. Our investigators are working with intelligence gathered from multiple sources,” he said.

He called on Nigerians to condemn the attack, describing it as an affront to the Federal Government and a dangerous precedent. “Does anyone have the right to attack government officials performing their lawful duty? No citizen or group can take the law into their hands. What happened was an attempt to undermine state authority,” he stressed.

NAFDAC reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the health of Nigerians and warned that intimidation or violence would not deter it from fulfilling its statutory mandate.

“NAFDAC is fully alive to her responsibilities of ensuring the safety, wholesomeness and quality of all NAFDAC-regulated products in Nigeria and will not be deterred from her mandate. All perpetrators will be made to face the full extent of the law”, the agency added.