The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has secured the conviction of an Aba-based businessman, Innocent Okoye, for manufacturing and selling counterfeit Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Okoye, Managing Director of Chikason Industrial Nigeria Limited, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, with an option of a N5 million fine, by the Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia State.
Justice K. O. Ogundare delivered the judgment on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, after convicting the businessman on two counts relating to the production and sale of counterfeit Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil, according to NAFDAC.
The conviction followed an enforcement operation carried out by the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate in April 2026, during which officials uncovered a facility in Aba allegedly used to manufacture and distribute the fake product.
NAFDAC arrested Okoye and subjected samples of the recovered products to laboratory analysis before commencing criminal proceedings against him.
The conviction comes amid the agency’s wider crackdown on counterfeit Goya oil following an alert issued in January 2026 over fake products packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles and sold as genuine imported olive oil.
At a media briefing in Lagos, NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Dr Martins Iluyomade, disclosed that investigators had uncovered an illegal production facility at Oke-Arin Market, Idumota, Lagos.
The agency alleged that operators of the facility processed palm oil with colouring agents before repackaging it as Goya olive oil for distribution to unsuspecting consumers.
Iluyomade explained that genuine Goya oil approved for sale in Nigeria was imported in its original glass bottles through authorised distribution channels. He warned consumers against purchasing products bearing the brand name in PET plastic bottles.
NAFDAC cautioned that counterfeit food products posed potential public health risks because their ingredients, quality and safety could not be guaranteed.
The agency urged consumers, traders and religious organisations to verify the sources of products before purchasing them and to report suspected counterfeit goods and illegal manufacturing facilities to the nearest NAFDAC office or through its official reporting channels.
It also called for stronger collaboration among manufacturers, distributors, retailers, consumers and law enforcement agencies to tackle the production and distribution of fake and substandard products across the country.
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