The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has apprehended the owner of Precious Jewel Int’l Nigeria Limited, Kingsley Awuh, for illegally revalidating expired cosmetics in Lagos State.

The agency announced the arrest on its official social media handle on Tuesday, revealing that the illegal activity was discovered at River Plaza, Trade Fair Complex, thanks to an intelligence tip.

NAFDAC’s swift action demonstrates its commitment to protecting public health and safety by preventing the circulation of harmful and expired products in the market.

The agency’s vigilance and enforcement efforts aim to ensure that consumers have access to safe and quality products.

NAFDAC said, “Precious Jewel Int’l Nigeria Limited was found altering expiration dates on products such as White Xpress Cream, Silka B Cream, Bond’s Magic Powder, Bio-Skin Lightening Lotion, Classic Hair System Fair Spotless Cleanser, Oil-Free Acne Control Oil, and Vaseline Blue Seal.

“Packaging materials, sealing machines, and other tools used for this illegal activity were seized from the facility.

“The owner, Mr. Kingsley Awuh attempted to escape upon the arrival of NAFDAC officers but was tracked down and arrested. He will be prosecuted.”

In mid-May, WAKADAILY reported that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) took decisive action against the sale of unregistered “Dr. Teal’s” brand cosmetics in Lagos State, shutting down three shops and raiding several others.

This crackdown came in response to a complaint filed by the trademark holder, highlighting NAFDAC’s commitment to protecting consumers and upholding intellectual property rights.

This enforcement action aligns with the agency’s ongoing efforts to combat counterfeit products, as emphasized by its Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who expressed optimism about Nigeria’s progress in tackling this issue and ensuring the safety and quality of products in the market.

Prof Adeyeye emphasized, “We are winning already. We cannot win overnight. First of all, substandard medicines are global. So, it is not just in Nigeria. It is all over; it is that it is higher in Africa than in other continents because we look forward to getting medicines from Asia, China, or India, whereas we are supposed to be thinking of making more medicines in our countries.

“So, winning the war is not a sprint, it is a marathon. We just want to make sure that we decrease as much as possible the prevalence of medicines that are bad in the country; we want to make sure that it goes down to less than five per cent.

“Right now, it is about 12 per cent which is still not good enough, but it is better than 17 per cent or 40 per cent. It used to be like 40 per cent years ago before my time, then they started decreasing it.”