A group of over seven bishops led a protest on Tuesday at the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) office in Asaba, Delta State, demanding that the agency refrain from regulating spiritual products associated with Prophet Jeremiah Fufeyin of Christ MercyLand Deliverance Ministry. The protest followed recent actions by NAFDAC, which had raised concerns about the church’s miracle and healing waters not being registered with the agency.
The bishops, joined by members of Fufeyin’s congregation and other Christian groups, marched under heavy rain, holding placards with messages such as “Spiritual products have spiritual backing, don’t need NAFDAC approval” and “When it comes to spiritual, respect it.” They argued that NAFDAC had no jurisdiction over spiritual matters.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Metropolitan Archbishop Samuel Baaba of the Charismatic Anglican Church of Nigeria, cautioned NAFDAC to stay clear of spiritual issues. “NAFDAC does not have the right to regulate spiritual products. There is a limit to what regulatory bodies can do when it comes to matters of faith,” he stated.
Other religious leaders, including Calixtus and Most Celestine Ewurum, emphasized that the NAFDAC Act of 2004 does not cover spiritual products and challenged the agency to explain why it labeled the products as fake without proper testing.
NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, had earlier issued a public warning against patronizing unregistered products from the ministry, claiming that the church was using the agency’s name to mislead people.
