From: George Ogunjimi Esq
To:
The General Manager/Chief Executive Officer,
Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA)
Lagos State Government.
Cc:
– The Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
– The Honourable Commissioner for Health, Lagos State
– The Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State
– The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command
– The Director-General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON)
– Relevant committees of the Lagos State House of Assembly
Subject: URGENT DEMAND FOR INVESTIGATION, ENFORCEMENT AND PUBLIC-HEALTH ACTION ON ADULTERATED PALM OIL.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I write to express serious concern regarding the recent warning issued by LASCOPA over the increasing sophistication of palm-oil adulteration in markets across Lagos State.
According to the Lagos State Government’s recent announcement, experts at the 2026 Lagos State Food Safety Conference identified emerging adulteration risks including the use of potentially carcinogenic Sudan and Azo dyes to alter the colour of palm oil, the mixing of palm oil with recovered or recycled oils, and the use of multiple adulterants designed to evade ordinary detection. The expert presentation also emphasized that visual inspection alone cannot establish whether palm oil has been adulterated.
This development deserves more than a warning to consumers. It requires a coordinated public-health, regulatory and legal response.
The need for immediate health protection.
Palm oil is consumed extensively by households and food businesses throughout Lagos. If unsafe substances are being introduced into a product that is widely consumed, the potential exposure could affect a substantial number of people.
I therefore respectfully urge LASCOPA and the relevant health authorities to establish an immediate testing and surveillance programme. Suspected palm-oil products should be sampled from markets, shops, distributors and other points in the supply chain and subjected to appropriate laboratory analysis.
The investigation should particularly determine whether prohibited or harmful colourants are present and whether recycled or otherwise unsuitable oils have been introduced. The Lagos State Government’s own technical presentation recommended a system of risk mapping, sampling, screening, confirmation and action, supported by proper laboratory testing and chain-of-custody procedures.
Where laboratory evidence establishes that a product is unsafe, the response should include prompt withdrawal or recall, rather than leaving consumers to determine its safety themselves.
NAFDAC’s 2025 regulations specifically provide mechanisms for voluntary and non-voluntary recalls of unwholesome and adulterated food products, public notification, safe storage and disposal, and enforcement.
NAFDAC and regulatory coordination.
This matter should not be handled by one agency in isolation.
NAFDAC’s statutory mandate includes regulating food and protecting public health, and its regulatory framework expressly addresses unwholesome and adulterated processed foods. NAFDAC NAFDAC also maintains laboratory testing and post-market surveillance functions.
I therefore urge LASCOPA to work directly with NAFDAC, SON, Lagos State health authorities and accredited laboratories to establish:
1. A state-wide sampling programme for palm oil;
2. Laboratory confirmation of suspected adulterants;
3. Traceability investigations to identify the source of contaminated products;
4. Immediate withdrawal or recall of products confirmed to be unsafe;
5. Inspection of processing, storage and distribution points;
6. Publication of verified information about affected products and locations; and
7. Continued surveillance after the immediate danger has been addressed.
This would turn the current warning into a preventive public-health programme.
The legal dimension.
There must also be a clear legal response where deliberate adulteration or unlawful sale of unsafe food is established.
Nigeria’s legal framework prohibits the production, sale, distribution or possession of adulterated or unwholesome processed food for sale. The Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act specifically addresses such conduct. The Criminal Code also contains provisions concerning the adulteration of food or drink intended for sale where the adulteration makes it noxious.
At the Lagos State level, LASCOPA’s statutory consumer-protection role includes market monitoring, investigation and enforcement. The Agency’s framework also provides mechanisms for dealing with hazardous products, including their withdrawal from circulation and appropriate consumer redress.
Accordingly, where laboratory evidence and investigation establish wrongdoing, the relevant authorities should preserve evidence, identify the persons or businesses responsible and pursue appropriate enforcement and prosecution under the applicable laws.
This should be done fairly and based on evidence. Consumers should be protected, but businesses should also be given due process and the opportunity to respond to allegations before liability is established.
Protecting consumers who may already have been exposed.
Another important issue is what happens to consumers who may already have purchased or consumed suspected products.
The Ministry of Health and relevant public-health authorities should establish clear channels through which residents can report suspected exposure and obtain appropriate medical advice. Where a confirmed hazardous product is identified, health authorities should communicate what symptoms or health concerns warrant medical attention without creating unnecessary public panic.
It is particularly important that government communications distinguish between a confirmed adulterant, a potential hazard and an established disease outcome. The recent Lagos warning describes Sudan and Azo dyes as potentially carcinogenic risks; this does not mean that every bottle of palm oil in Lagos is contaminated or that every person who has consumed palm oil will develop cancer. Laboratory evidence should determine the affected products and the appropriate public-health response. Lagos State Government
Enforcement must extend beyond individual traders.
A lasting solution requires investigation throughout the supply chain.
If adulteration is occurring, authorities should determine whether it originates with processors, wholesalers, distributors, retailers or other actors. Enforcement that only removes one trader while leaving the source untouched may not prevent recurrence.
There was already a reported enforcement action in May 2026 in which LASCOPA sealed a shop on Lagos Island following complaints and market surveillance concerning contaminated and artificially enhanced palm oil. The latest warning therefore provides an opportunity to build upon existing enforcement with a broader, evidence-based surveillance operation.
A call for transparency.
Finally, I respectfully request that the relevant authorities provide the public with regular updates on:
– the number of palm-oil samples tested;
– the number found to be adulterated;
– the substances detected;
– the locations from which affected samples were obtained;
– products or batches withdrawn from circulation;
– businesses sanctioned where violations are established;
– prosecutions initiated where appropriate; and
– measures being taken to prevent recurrence.
Such transparency would reassure the public that government intervention goes beyond issuing warnings.
The people of Lagos should not be expected to carry the entire responsibility for protecting themselves from adulterated food. Consumers can exercise caution, but government agencies possess the laboratories, regulatory powers, inspection mechanisms and legal institutions necessary to identify dangerous products and stop their circulation.
I therefore respectfully call on LASCOPA, NAFDAC, the Lagos State Ministry of Health, the relevant legal authorities, the police and other regulatory bodies to treat this matter as a coordinated consumer-protection and public-health priority.
A warning can alert the public. Testing can establish the facts. Enforcement can remove the danger. Prosecution can establish accountability. Prevention can save lives.
I urge the authorities to ensure that all four elements—warning, verification, enforcement and prevention—work together.
Yours faithfully,
Chief George Bamidele Ogunjimi Esq
The Bamofin of Ojo Kingdom, Lagos
120 Olojo Drive, Ojo, Lagos
jurisrepubliclegal@gmil.com
08118875482
23/09/2026.
