By Azeez Sulaiman
In a major blow to the distribution of unsafe consumer goods, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed 18 warehouses in Bida, Niger State.
The facilities were found to be housing expired food and beverage products with an estimated market value exceeding ₦100 million.
The enforcement operation, carried out by the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, targeted warehouses located around Ndazabo White House on Minna Road and behind the Bida Modern Market.
Acting on credible intelligence, NAFDAC officials uncovered a massive stockpile of degraded goods, many of which were already packaged for distribution to unsuspecting retailers.
The scale of the recovery highlights a significant public health risk, as the inventory included 80,000 packets of expired non-alcoholic drinks, 16,000 packets of bottled water, and 5,000 packets of dairy milk. Additionally, officials recovered 28 cartons of pasta along with various other assorted expired commodities.
Preliminary investigations have linked the illicit storage facilities to a firm identified as BY Ventures.
This connection prompted NAFDAC to extend its raid to supermarkets owned by the company in Minna, where officials discovered additional expired products and suspected counterfeit Goya olive oil.
Following the operation, the Managing Director of the company, Alhaji Yusuf Nadabo, was summoned for questioning and reportedly admitted ownership of the expired inventory during interrogation.
While several warehouse managers remain in custody, NAFDAC has emphasized that investigations are ongoing and that strict regulatory sanctions will be applied once the process is concluded.
The agency reaffirmed its commitment to sanitizing the Nigerian market and protecting citizens from the dangers of unwholesome products.