Counterfeiters will continue unless death penalty is imposed — Onanuga

‎The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has said counterfeiters will not stop their activities until the death penalty is imposed on them.

‎

‎Onanuga made the remark on X on Wednesday, replying to a post by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control on the discovery of a suspected counterfeit alcohol factory in Aba, Abia State.

‎

‎“These counterfeiters certainly have no conscience. Until we start imposing a death penalty on them, they will never stop their nefarious activities,” he wrote.

‎

‎NAFDAC said it raided the facility at No. 25 Omenazu Street, Aba, acting on credible intelligence, and found it operating in unhygienic conditions.

‎

‎The agency said the suspected operator fled when officials arrived, abandoning a vehicle containing counterfeit packaging bearing the names of Sir Edwards Scotch Whisky and Scottish Hills Whisky, empty bottles and a drum holding about 200 litres of liquid.

‎

‎Inside the facility, officials found bottle caps, sealing machines, cartons, tanks of liquid “concoctions” and dirty sieves reportedly used in production. They also recovered plastic buckets and 200-litre drums of ethanol, as well as tree bark soaked in ethanol.

‎

‎NAFDAC valued the equipment, materials and facility components at over ₦500m, and said the findings raised serious concerns about the safety and quality of the products.

‎

‎The remark comes amid a run of high-profile NAFDAC actions against fake products. The agency said it seized and destroyed counterfeit and unwholesome goods worth more than ₦5.3bn in a week.

‎

‎That included a raid on the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, where it said it seized products worth over ₦2bn and arrested two suspects.

‎

‎The House of Representatives has also called for stronger measures against fake and substandard food products, citing earlier raids on alcohol-counterfeiting syndicates in Lagos and an illegal juice factory in Badagry.

‎

‎Under the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, producing or selling counterfeit drugs or unwholesome processed foods carries a fine of up to ₦500,000, or imprisonment of five to 15 years, or both. The law does not provide for the death penalty.

‎

‎Neither NAFDAC nor the Presidency had commented at the time of filing.

‎

‎The agency urged the public to report suspected illegal manufacturing to its call centre on 0800-1-623322 or 0700-1-623322, or by email at reforms@nafdac.gov.ng.

‎