The Senate on Wednesday moved to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against counterfeit medicines and unsafe food products by passing for second reading a bill seeking tougher sanctions against offenders, including a jail term of up to 15 years for those involved in the manufacture, distribution and sale of fake drugs.
The proposed legislation, titled the Counterfeit Medical Products, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Prohibition and Control) Bill, 2026 (SB.951), is sponsored by Senator Umar Sadiq Suleiman.
Following its second reading, Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary) for further legislative scrutiny, directing it to report back within four weeks.
Opening debate on the bill, Suleiman said the legislation is designed to replace the outdated Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods Act, Cap. C34, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, with a more robust legal framework capable of responding to present-day challenges posed by counterfeit medicines, adulterated cosmetics, falsely labelled chemicals, and unsafe processed foods.
He argued that technological innovations, the expansion of e-commerce, cross-border smuggling, and increasingly sophisticated criminal networks have exposed the shortcomings of the existing law, making comprehensive reforms necessary.
