Nollywood actress Ngozi Ezeonu has raised concerns over the circulation of fake drugs, baby formula and other counterfeit products in Nigeria, urging those involved to stop putting innocent lives at risk for profit.
Ezeonu made the appeal in a video shared on her Instagram page on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, where she spoke about young people she said she had seen suffering from kidney and liver problems in hospitals and questioned whether medications could be contributing to some cases.
“There’s something I want to talk about this morning.”
“It’s something that is really giving me a lot of concern,” Ezeonu said.
The actress said some patients receive prescriptions, buy the recommended medicines and take them but fail to recover, with their conditions sometimes remaining unchanged or becoming worse.
“Somebody will be sick.”
“The person goes to the hospital, the person is given a prescription, the person gets the drugs, takes the medication, but the sickness is not going, still there or probably getting worse,” she said.
Ezeonu questioned why anyone would manufacture or distribute products capable of harming unsuspecting members of the public, warning that the consequences could eventually affect the perpetrators or their own families.
“Why would anybody want to throw stones in the market? Who do you think it will fall on?” she asked.
She further warned that the harm caused by counterfeit products could reach anyone, regardless of social or financial status, because consumers and their families could unknowingly come into contact with dangerous products.
“It might fall on your mother, it might fall on your father, your children, or even you,” she said.
Ezeonu acknowledged that people need money but insisted that the pursuit of wealth should not come at the expense of human lives.
“Let us not be our own enemies.”
“I know we have to get money, be rich, but not at the detriment of innocent lives,” she said.
The actress also appealed directly to people involved in the production or sale of fake drugs to stop, saying the consequences were already being felt by Nigerians.
“If you are one of the people who are doing these fake drugs, please stop.”
“People are dying.”
“Our children are dying,” Ezeonu said.
She extended her concern beyond medicines to products consumed by children, particularly common drinks and infant formula, saying counterfeit versions were also reportedly appearing in circulation.
“The common drinks children take, you have a lot of fake ones.”
“Children’s formula fake.”
“I do not understand this whole thing.”
“What is going on?” she asked.
Ezeonu also questioned the effectiveness of regulatory oversight in protecting Nigerians from potentially harmful products and urged relevant authorities to pay closer attention to the standards of goods reaching the market.
“It’s not just politics.”
“We are the ones you are governing.”
“Do you people check the standards of what people eat these days?” she asked.
She appealed to authorities and those responsible for monitoring products to take the issue seriously, stressing that the consequences of weak enforcement could affect ordinary Nigerians who depend on local markets and healthcare facilities.
Ezeonu further contrasted the situation faced by wealthy Nigerians who can afford treatment abroad with that of citizens who depend on hospitals within the country.
She questioned what anyone would gain from making money through products that could contribute to illness or death, urging people involved in counterfeit production to consider the human consequences of their actions.
“What would you gain when people die because you have to make money? It’s painful for me.”
“It’s really painful for me,” she said.
Ezeonu ended her appeal by urging Nigerians to value human lives and calling on those involved in the production and distribution of fake products to change their ways.
“We should value lives,” she said.
The warning comes amid continuing concerns over substandard and falsified medicines and other regulated products in Nigeria, with regulatory agencies responsible for product quality and consumer protection expected to enforce standards and protect the public.
Ezeonu’s October 6 appeal has since drawn attention to the dangers consumers may face when counterfeit medicines, foods and other essential products enter the market.
