BY NECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed no fewer than 18 warehouses in Bida, Niger State, after uncovering large quantities of expired food and beverage products valued at over ₦100 million.
The enforcement action followed credible intelligence that led the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement team to facilities located around Ndazabo White House along Minna Road and behind Bida Modern Market, where thousands of expired items allegedly packaged for distribution were discovered.
Items recovered during the raid included expired non-alcoholic beverages, dairy milk, candies, bottled water and pasta, some of which were already packaged for distribution.
According to the agency, about 80,000 packets of expired non-alcoholic drinks, 5,000 packets of dairy milk, 16,000 packets of bottled water, 28 cartons of pasta and other assorted expired products were uncovered during the operation.
Managers of the affected warehouses were arrested for interrogation, during which preliminary findings linked the facilities to a company identified as BY Ventures. This prompted NAFDAC officials to extend their operation to supermarkets owned by the company in Minna, where additional expired products and counterfeit Goya oil were allegedly found.
Both supermarkets were subsequently sealed, while the Managing Director of the company, Alhaji Yusuf Nadabo, was invited for further questioning. The agency said he admitted ownership of the expired products during interrogation.
NAFDAC stated that investigations are ongoing and that appropriate regulatory sanctions would be imposed at the conclusion of the process to serve as a deterrent to others.
