Nollywood Stars Unite Against Fake Products

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Veteran Nollywood actress Ngozi Ezeonu has issued a passionate public plea urging manufacturers and sellers of counterfeit drugs, baby formula, and other products to stop endangering lives for profit. In a video shared on her Instagram account around 6 October 2026, she highlighted the rising cases of kidney and liver ailments among young people, linking many of them to the widespread circulation of fake medicines and food items.

Ngozi stated, “I don’t understand what’s happening in this country anymore. When you go to hospitals, you see young people dying with kidney problems, liver problems, because everything is fake! I don’t know what the authorities are doing.”

She directly addressed those involved in the trade: “I know we have to be rich, but it should not be at the detriment of innocent lives. What would you gain when people die because you have to make money? It pains me. We shouldn’t be our own enemies. We should value lives. If you are one of the people doing fake drugs, please stop. People are dying. Our children are dying. Common drinks children take, we now have a lot of fake ones: children’s formula, fake. I don’t understand this whole thing. If you make all the money in the whole world, do you think of where your soul will go to?”

Her comments focus particularly on the impact on children and the moral cost of prioritising wealth over human life. The video has circulated widely on social media and Nigerian entertainment platforms, amplifying public concern over substandard and falsified products in markets.

Ngozi’s appeal closely aligns with a similar call made just days earlier by actress and filmmaker Ruth Kadiri. In an Instagram video posted earlier this month, Ruth described the proliferation of fake food, drinks, medicines, cosmetics, and household goods as a direct threat to human life rather than merely a business issue.

“Every day, people buy food, drinks, medicines, cosmetics, household products, believing that they’re safe, but sadly, they are poorly produced, contaminated, harmful, and mostly fake. This isn’t a business problem; it’s a threat to human life. Imagine little children battling kidney failure,” Ruth said. She shared a personal experience in which garlic she purchased and blended turned green shortly afterwards, heightening her fears about everyday consumables, especially packaged drinks for children.

Ruth specifically urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to intensify monitoring:

“NAFDAC, please pay attention to the lives of Nigerians. Lots and lots of people are sick and are not getting better because the cost of fake products, the cost of fake medicine, is much more than we can ever ask or think.” She warned those dealing in counterfeits that they would eventually be treated “like a criminal, in fact, like a hired killer that you are,” and advised parents and guardians to carefully check expiry dates and NAFDAC registration numbers.

The growing chorus of concern intensified further when actress and producer Mary Remmy Njoku publicly called out NAFDAC Director-General Professor Mojisola Adeyeye. The regulator had stated in a BusinessDay interview that many Nigerians are “ignorant,” do not read labels, and fail to understand the agency’s mandate, which covers processed and semi-processed foods rather than all market produce.

Mary rejected the framing, posting on Instagram: “Madam NAFDAC!! Stop shifting the burden to consumers. We cannot READ our way out of weak inspection, inadequate testing and poor enforcement. Are you effectively regulating processed and semi-processed foods? Are you? ARE YOU? This isn’t about whether Nigerians READ labels. This is about whether the regulator is REGULATING. This is public health. Please, STOP DEFLECTING!!!!! Protect the public! Hear the cry of the people you have been called to serve!”

The actresses emphasise the same core issues: the link between counterfeit products and serious health conditions such as kidney failure (particularly among the young), the moral failure of placing profit above lives, the vulnerability of children, and the need for stronger regulatory action by agencies including NAFDAC. Ngozi’s emotional appeal to producers’ conscience and her focus on drugs and baby formula complement Ruth’s broader warning about contaminated consumer goods and her direct challenge to regulators and sellers, and Mary’s highlighting of mounting frustration among Nigerians over the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard products and perceived gaps in regulatory enforcement.

The successive statements from prominent Nollywood figures reflect growing public frustration with the persistent problem of fake and substandard products in Nigeria.