A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Thursday, September 24, 2026, convicted trader Elijah Chigbogu and two companies linked to him over the unlawful possession, display for sale, importation and distribution of fake and unregistered drugs.
Justice Musa Kakaki, sitting at the Ikoyi division of the court, convicted Chigbogu, Prolife & Well Pharmaceutical Limited and God of Elijah Nigeria Limited after the three defendants pleaded guilty to a four-count charge filed by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
NAFDAC’s counsel, Anita Madu, told the court that a plea bargain agreement had been reached with the defendants and asked the judge to adopt its terms. After reviewing the agreement, Justice Kakaki convicted the defendants and sentenced Chigbogu to a fine of ₦1.5 million.
According to the charge, the offences occurred on or about July 28, 2025, at business premises linked to the defendants at No. 58, Obun Eko Street, Idumota, Lagos Island, and No. 29, Oluwale Loyole Street, Ikotun-Egbe, Lagos.
The products listed in the charge included Zanza Cyprodine, Calpol 200ml Suspension, Zirtek Allergy Relief, Candesartan 4mg Tablets, Nicorette 4mg, Lisinopril 10mg Tablets, Canesten Thrush 20mg, Anusol Ointment, Gaviscon Double Action, Prolife Vitamin C, Gliclazide 80mg Tablets, Amitriptyline 25mg Tablets, Allopurinol 300mg Tablets, Levothyroxine 50mg Tablets and Doxazosin 2mg Tablets.
The four counts bordered on possession and display of fake drugs for sale, as well as the importation and distribution of unregistered pharmaceutical products, according to the charge presented by NAFDAC. The offences were prosecuted under legislation governing counterfeit and fake drugs and the registration of food, drugs and related products.
The case comes as NAFDAC continues enforcement against illegal and substandard medicines in Nigeria’s major open drug markets. On February 10, 2025, the agency began a coordinated enforcement operation at the Idumota open drug market in Lagos, the Ariaria market in Aba and the Bridge Market in Onitsha. NAFDAC said the three markets collectively accounted for more than 80 percent of medication distribution in the country.
During the February 2025 operation, NAFDAC said more than 11,000 shops were sealed and 40 people arrested, while more than 77 trucks of suspected substandard medicines were seized across the three markets. The agency later said medicines seized from Idumota during the enforcement exercise and destroyed in March 2025 had an estimated value of ₦100 billion.
The latest conviction adds another court case to NAFDAC’s broader enforcement campaign against the circulation of fake, falsified, substandard and unregistered medicines in Nigeria.
