A federal high court in Abuja has sentenced Innocent Okoye, a businessman in Abia state, to five years’ imprisonment for manufacturing and selling counterfeit Goya Extra Virgin olive oil.
Okoye, managing director of Chikason Industrial Nigeria Limited, was convicted on two counts relating to the production and sale of the counterfeit product.
According to information from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Kehinde Ogundare, presiding judge, delivered the judgment on Wednesday, handing Okoye the option of a N5 million fine.
The conviction followed an enforcement operation by NAFDAC’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate in April 2026, when officials uncovered a facility in Aba allegedly used to manufacture and distribute the counterfeit olive oil.
Okoye was arrested during the operation, while samples of the recovered products were taken to the agency’s laboratory for analysis. The investigation subsequently led to his prosecution.
In January 2026, NAFDAC had warned consumers against counterfeit Goya olive oil being sold in polyethene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles and presented as genuine imported products.
At a media briefing in Lagos, Martins Iluyomade, the agency’s director of investigation and enforcement, said investigators had uncovered an illegal production facility at Oke-Arin market, Idumota, Lagos.
He said operators at the facility allegedly mixed palm oil with colouring agents before repackaging the mixture as Goya olive oil.
Iluyomade said genuine Goya oil approved for sale in Nigeria was imported in its original glass bottles through authorised distribution channels. He advised consumers to be wary of products bearing the brand name but packaged in PET plastic bottles.
NAFDAC has urged consumers, traders and religious organisations to verify the sources of products they purchase and report suspected counterfeit goods and illegal manufacturing facilities to its offices or through its official reporting channels.
