Officials from Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (Nafdac) raided the International Centre for Commerce in Lagos, leading to chaos, injuries, and allegations of an assassination attempt. The operation targeted fake and substandard products but turned violent when armed individuals attacked the team. Market leaders urged traders to comply with regulations to avoid future disruptions.
On October 30, 2025, Nafdac officials, led by Director of Investigation and Enforcement Martins Iluyomade, stormed the Balogun Business Association at the International Centre for Commerce (ICC) in Lagos, accompanied by heavily armed soldiers and mobile police officers. They arrived in eight trucks and began raiding shops and warehouses, confiscating products suspected of being fake, banned, or unwholesome, in violation of the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Cap. C.34 LFN 2004.
Witnesses reported that the raid initially proceeded peacefully based on credible intelligence, but panic ensued when mobile police fired tear gas and live bullets to disperse traders and visitors. Many traders sustained injuries while fleeing and closing their shops, leading to a partial shutdown of the complex. The market leadership, unaware of the operation in advance, noted it was unusual for Nafdac to involve armed forces.
In response, ICC leader Oscar Odogwu addressed traders on Friday, urging them to avoid dealing in fake or expired products. "We could not stop the regulatory body from coming into the complex for their official work," Odogwu said. He warned that protests against Nafdac would result in police prosecution and advised members to remain law-abiding as issues would be resolved amicably.
Nafdac's Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, alleged the violence was a pre-planned assassination attempt on Iluyomade, who also chairs the Federal Task Force. Represented by Iluyomade at a weekend briefing in Apapa, Adeyeye stated that armed thugs, possibly hired by market owners, demanded Iluyomade's identity and attacked after four trucks of seized products worth N500 million were loaded. The agency abandoned further seizures due to the assault, during which cluster leaders shut the gates, trapping officials. Ten operational vehicles from Nafdac and security agencies, valued at over N25 billion, were vandalized. Adeyeye linked the incident to prior enforcement actions in Aba and Onitsha markets, citing intelligence received two months earlier.