A coalition of over 80 civil society organisations, researchers, farmers, and advocacy groups has criticised Nigeria’s top food and drug regulatory agency for issuing contradictory statements on the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Environmental Rights Action, and the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance expressed concern over what they described as “inconsistency” from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), an agency mandated to safeguard the health of Nigerians.

On August 8, 2025, NAFDAC Director-General Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye stated on Channels Television that “genetically modified organisms, particularly in food, are not harmful to human health, provided that safety protocols are followed.” She added, “GMOs are genetically modified foods and they are not bad for us. They’re not. They are not bad for us, depending on what type of foods they are and whether these safety considerations have been taken.”

However, in June 2024, Adeyeye had taken a different stance, saying on Arise News that “NAFDAC does not consider GMO foods safe for consumption due to insufficient research and data at the agency's disposal regarding their safety.” At the time, she emphasised that “until we get very convincing data to show the safety for human consumption,” NAFDAC’s position remained that GMOs were unsafe.

Professor Johnson Ekpere, an independent consultant and convener of the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, accused regulatory bodies of failing to provide “robust, long-term and independent” feeding studies to confirm GMO safety.

Citing a recent Iranian study that linked GM soybean oil to liver and kidney damage in rats, Ekpere warned of similar risks in humans. “This sort of inconsistency and falsehood peddled by agencies of government who are saddled with the responsibility to protect our health and environment is unacceptable,” he said.

HOMEF’s Executive Director, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, highlighted broader environmental threats, warning that GMO crops could cause irreversible soil degradation. He referenced the experience of Nigerian cotton farmers, who reported poor yields of conventional crops after planting Bt cotton for three years. He added that herbicide-tolerant GMOs contribute to biodiversity loss and the spread of “super weeds” that require increasingly toxic chemicals.

Medical microbiologist Dr. Ifeanyi Casmir warned about Bt crops approved in Nigeria in 2019 and 2024, saying their proteins destroy beneficial soil microorganisms. He cited studies showing Bt toxins in 93% of pregnant women and 80% of fetal cord blood, linking them to birth defects, cancer, and allergies.

Environmental Rights Action’s Deputy Executive Director, Barr. Mariann Bassey-Olsson, said GMOs threaten Nigeria’s indigenous seed varieties through genetic contamination, a problem she noted is “irreversible.” She also warned that GMO dependency forces farmers to repeatedly buy seeds from foreign companies due to patents that restrict seed saving and exchange.

HOMEF’s Director of Programmes, Joyce Brown, questioned NAFDAC’s capacity to monitor GMO imports and food products. She recalled that in 2018, NAFDAC admitted it was unaware of a permit for GM maize granted to WACOT Ltd. Brown described as “troubling” the subsequent approval of the maize for three years after an initial seizure by Nigerian Customs.

The coalition urged the Nigerian Senate to ban GMOs, protect indigenous seeds, safeguard human health, and preserve environmental integrity. They advocated for agroecological farming practices and called on the government to address food insecurity by supporting smallholder farmers with credit, land, infrastructure, and security.