An official of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Martins Iluyomade, said fake drugs have killed more Nigerians than Boko Haram.

Iluyomade, NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, said this on Tuesday, following the agency’s five-day operation where over 10,000 cartons of unregistered tomato paste and cosmetic products were seized at the Lagos Trade Fair Market.

“I can say authoritatively that deaths from substandard medicines, cosmetics, and unsafe foods exceed the number of people killed by Boko Haram,” he told journalists.

“This is why the agency remains committed to ensuring Nigerians use only products that have passed regulatory processes, assuring safety and effectiveness.”

Nigeria has battled violent insurgencies for decades, ranking 6th on the 2025 Global Terrorism Index and accounting for 6% of global terrorism deaths in 2023.

According to the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), since 2007, over 11,000 people have been killed in Nigeria, with millions more displaced.

The GCERF report said these insurgencies, especially in the North-East, North-Central and North-West, have severely impacted Nigeria’s local, state, and national socioeconomic fabric.

“In Nigeria, key drivers of violent extremism include limited trust in the government, security forces and the justice system, limited socio-economic opportunities and religious conflicts,” the report read.

“GCERF began investing in the country in 2016 and till date USD 11.75 million has been invested to address these drivers of violent extremism.” (The Guardian)