THE NATIONAL Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has secured the conviction of an Aba businessman over the manufacture and sale of counterfeit Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil, as the agency intensifies its nationwide crackdown on fake, banned and unwholesome products.
The businessman, Mr Innocent Okoye, Managing Director of Chikason Industrial Nigeria Ltd., Aba, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, with an option of N5 million fine, after Justice K. O. Ogundare of the Federal High Court, Umuahia, found him guilty on two counts.
The judgement was delivered on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, following months of investigation and prosecution by NAFDAC.
The conviction followed an enforcement operation by the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate in April, during which officials uncovered an illegal facility in Aba allegedly used to produce imitation olive oil. Okoye was arrested and samples suspected to be counterfeit were recovered from the premises.
NAFDAC said the samples were subjected to laboratory analysis, which confirmed their counterfeit status, leading to the institution of criminal proceedings against the businessman.
The agency said the conviction demonstrated its resolve to hold manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit food products accountable for practices that could endanger public health.
It warned that counterfeit edible oils could contain undeclared ingredients and may be produced under unhygienic conditions, exposing consumers to harmful contaminants through regular consumption or skin application.
The development comes as NAFDAC continues its enforcement campaign against fake and banned products across the country as the agency destroyed fake, banned, adulterated and unwholesome products worth more than N8 billion seized across the North-Central zone.
NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this on Thursday in Lafia during the destruction exercise. She was represented by the agency’s North-Central Coordinator, Mr Joseph Edor.
Adeyeye said the confiscated products were seized from manufacturing facilities, sales outlets, markets and motor parks across the zone.
She said a significant portion of the destroyed items comprised banned alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and containers of less than 200 millilitres.
According to her, the restriction on such alcoholic beverages was introduced because their affordability, availability and portability make them susceptible to abuse by youths and underage schoolchildren.
She said early exposure to alcohol could affect brain development and damage vital organs, including the liver and kidneys, while also undermining academic performance, reducing productivity and contributing to various illnesses.
Other products destroyed included expired, counterfeit and unwholesome food items, drugs and cosmetics.
Adeyeye commended law enforcement and sister agencies for supporting NAFDAC’s enforcement operations, particularly through intelligence sharing and the provision of security.
Dr Gyani Stephen, NAFDAC Coordinator in Nasarawa, said the destruction exercise was not intended to hurt anyone but to protect public health and save lives. He warned traders involved in the sale of fake and banned products to desist from the practice or face the full weight of the law.
The Nasarawa State Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), CN Saidu Daniel, represented by Yakubu Awoh, also commended NAFDAC, saying allowing the dangerous products into the market could have endangered millions of lives and adversely affected public health.
NAFDAC had earlier raised the alarm over the circulation of fake Goya oil in Nigerian markets. In January 2026, its Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Dr Martins Iluyomade, warned consumers about counterfeit Goya oil packaged in PET plastic bottles, noting that authentic Goya oil was imported in glass bottles.
Iluyomade also disclosed that operators at Oke-Arin Market, Idumota, Lagos, were allegedly processing palm oil with colouring agents and selling it as Goya oil.
NAFDAC urged consumers, traders and religious organisations to remain vigilant and pay close attention to the source and packaging of regulated products.
The agency reiterated its commitment to protecting public health through market surveillance, laboratory analysis, enforcement operations and prosecution of offenders.
