Importing medicines into Nigeria

The regulator

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) regulates the registration, import, distribution and export of medicines in Nigeria. It works alongside the Nigeria Customs Service at ports of entry, and clearance of NAFDAC regulated imports is handled online through the agency's Ports Inspection system, PIDCARMS.

Narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors follow a stricter track. NAFDAC's narcotics import guideline requires an import permit and a separate permit to clear, and it limits applications to the holder of the product's certificate of registration.

Legal routes for unregistered medicines

The starting point is that a medicine must be registered with NAFDAC before it is imported or sold. NAFDAC has warned publicly against parallel imports of unregistered prescription medicines, so an unregistered product needs its own permit before it ships.

Permits under the drug registration regulations

The Drug and Related Products Registration Regulations allow NAFDAC to grant a permit to import a drug outside full registration for defined purposes: samples for registration, clinical trials, the Service Drug Scheme, emergency use during disease outbreaks and humanitarian donations. The import must follow the conditions written on the permit. Under the Service Drug Scheme, use is restricted to the receiving premises named on the permit, which is the closest published fit for a hospital that needs a specific unregistered medicine. NAFDAC does not publish a dedicated named-patient guideline, so confirm the permit type with the agency first.

Donations and clinical trials

NAFDAC's Guidelines for Donated Medical Products in Nigeria (2025) require the Nigerian recipient organisation to apply before the goods are imported, with a certificate of donation or evidence of the donor and recipient arrangement. Investigational and comparator products for an approved trial enter under a clinical trial permit requested by the sponsor or its local representative.

Personal use and the 2026 prohibition list

Some secondary guides describe a NAFDAC permit for an individual patient's personal use. It was not found in a NAFDAC guideline reviewed for this page, so treat it as unconfirmed. Separately, Nigeria's 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures restrict some medicaments from outside ECOWAS from 1 April 2026. Press reports name paracetamol, metronidazole, cotrimoxazole and chloroquine products among them. Specialty and orphan medicines were not named in the reports reviewed, but check the current list for any common generic.

Documents a buyer usually needs

• NAFDAC permit for the product, issued to the Nigerian consignee
• Prescription and a physician letter explaining why no registered alternative is suitable
• Proforma invoice, commercial invoice and packing list with matching names and quantities
• Certificate of analysis for each batch
• Certificate of pharmaceutical product or proof of registration in the country of origin, and a GMP certificate
• Form M, the Nigerian import declaration opened through an authorised bank
• Air waybill and, for donations, the certificate of donation

Timeline: a worked example

A teaching hospital in Lagos needs an orphan medicine for a named patient. The medicine is not registered with NAFDAC.

Total: roughly 4 to 10 weeks from request to delivery, most of it waiting for the permit. These are planning estimates, not published service times.

Shipping lanes from India

Most air freight from Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad or Bengaluru to Lagos (LOS) or Abuja (ABV) connects through a hub such as Dubai, Doha, Addis Ababa or Nairobi. Express courier service is usually 4 to 7 days door to door for small, non-controlled parcels. Air cargo with a clearing agent is usually 7 to 14 days including NAFDAC inspection and customs. Controlled medicines and cold-chain lots should move as air cargo with the NAFDAC permit and, for controlled drugs, the permit to clear in place before departure.

CIP and DAP to Lagos are the usual terms, and FCA suits hospitals or importers with their own forwarder. DDP is rarely practical because the Nigerian consignee must hold the NAFDAC permit and clear the goods.

Practical tips for buyers

• Agree the permit type with NAFDAC before the exporter books freight. Shipping before the permit is issued risks detention or re-export.
• Keep the product name, strength, pack size and quantity identical across the permit, invoice, packing list and air waybill.
• Duty on HS 3004 medicines is 0 percent under the ECOWAS tariff according to World Bank WITS data, but some lines such as antimalarials are reported at 20 percent under the 2026 fiscal measures.
• Medical and pharmaceutical products are zero-rated for VAT under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 from 1 January 2026. Expect the 0.5 percent ECOWAS levy and a 1 percent CISS fee. The 4 percent FOB charge was suspended in September 2025, so confirm its status.
• For donations, involve the recipient early, since NAFDAC deals with the recipient organisation, not the donor.