To curb the influx of fake and substandard medicines from Asia, Nigeria’s drug regulator, NAFDAC has intensified its pre-shipment checks by appointing Cotecna Inspection Services as a Clean Report of Inspection and Analysis (CRIA) agent in India. This addition strengthens the agency’s regulatory oversight on imports from India and China countries identified as key sources of falsified medical products entering Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Sunday by NAFDAC’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, and sent to Africa Health Report, the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, announced the appointment of Cotecna as part of efforts to tighten controls on drug importation. “This collaboration underscores our unwavering commitment to ensuring that only safe, high-quality, and properly documented products enter Nigeria,” she said during a technical meeting held in Lagos.
The CRIA scheme mandates physical inspection, lab testing, and document verification before any NAFDAC-regulated product leaves exporting countries.
According to Prof. Adeyeye, nearly 200 shipments have been intercepted in recent years due to failed lab tests or documentation fraud.
Representing Cotecna, Vice President Lena Sodergren pledged support for NAFDAC’s mission. “We are bringing our global expertise in testing and certification to bear on this mission,” she said, calling CRIA “the most comprehensive food, drug, and cosmetics programme in Africa.”
NAFDAC also launched a digital tracking system—PIDCARMS—to verify inspection reports and reduce risk. Dr. Olakunle Olaniran, Director of Ports Inspection, described CRIA as a “game changer” that has exposed fake documents and counterfeit drugs.
Prof. Adeyeye warned against any attempt to bypass the controls, stressing that rejected shipments would be tracked in collaboration with Indian authorities to prevent their illegal entry into Nigeria.
