A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) on Monday, August 11, 2025, expressed concern over the conflicting positions of Federal Government agencies on the safety of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the food chain.
The CSOs’ concerns were voiced by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Environmental Rights Action (ERA), and the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance in a statement.
Their position was contained in a statement signed by Miss Kome Odhomor, HOMEF’s Media and Communications Lead.
They condemned what they described as inconsistency by Nigeria’s lead agency responsible for safeguarding public health on food and drug matters, particularly regarding GMO safety.
The coalition, comprising over 80 civil society organisations, researchers, farmers, women’s and youth groups representing the interests of millions of Nigerians, said the divergent views by regulators were unacceptable.
Recall that Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), on Aug. 8, stated that GMOs, particularly in food, were not harmful to human health, provided safety protocols were observed.
“GMOs are genetically modified foods and they are not bad for us.
“They are not bad for us, depending on what type of foods they are and whether safety considerations have been taken,” Adeyeye said at the time.
However, in June 2024, Adeyeye had taken a different stance, expressing concern over GMO safety in Nigeria.
She had stated: “NAFDAC does not consider GMO foods safe for consumption due to insufficient research and data at the agency’s disposal regarding their safety.
“Until we get very convincing data to show the safety for human consumption, NAFDAC’s position remains that GMOs are not safe.”
On potential uses for non-food crops, she had also maintained that there was no evidence from NAFDAC confirming their safety for human consumption.
The coalition said it was baffled by the DG’s sudden change of position on GMOs.
“Where is the rigorous, independent and long-term research that NAFDAC or the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has conducted to confirm that GMOs are safe for consumption or what exactly informs this radical change of opinion?” the CSOs queried.
“The fact that our regulatory agency – the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) – cannot show evidence of independent, extensive risk assessments demonstrates irresponsibility and disregard for public health,” they concluded.
The statement quoted ERA’s Deputy Executive Director, Mariann Bassey-Olsson, as warning of threats to Nigeria’s food sovereignty.
She said GMOs risked contaminating indigenous seed varieties through gene transfer, a problem that was irreversible.
“For this reason, Mexico and several other countries have placed total or partial bans on GMOs,” she noted.
“GMOs also create dependence on foreign seed companies since they yield poorly after the first planting, forcing farmers to buy new seeds every season.
“Moreover, GMOs are patented, giving producers exclusive rights for years and prohibiting seed exchange – a practice long upheld by our farmers.”
The statement quoted Prof. Johnson Ekpere, an independent consultant and convener of the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, as saying: “These agencies are yet to show evidence of a robust, long-term, independent study – particularly feeding studies – to confirm that GMOs are safe.
“Meanwhile, a recent rat-feeding study by Iranian scientists showed substantial liver and kidney damage in rats fed GM soybean oil for 90 days.
“Similar studies have linked GMOs to tumours and immune disorders such as asthma and allergies.
“This sort of inconsistency and falsehood from government agencies tasked with protecting our health and environment is unacceptable.”
The statement also cited Dr Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of HOMEF, who said the dangers of GMOs extended beyond health risks to long-term, possibly irreversible soil and environmental degradation.
He referred to reports from the National Cotton Farmers Association of Nigeria, where farmers complained that after three years of planting pesticidal cotton (Bt cotton), conventional crops no longer grew on those soils.
Bassey warned that herbicide-tolerant GMOs – accounting for about 80 per cent of GMOs globally – had caused severe biodiversity loss, as the herbicides they were designed to withstand kill not only target pests but also beneficial soil organisms.
“These GMOs have also led to the emergence of “super weeds,” forcing farmers to use more toxic herbicide formulations harmful to both the environment and human health.”
The coalition further quoted medical and molecular microbiologist Dr Ifeanyi Casmir.
Casmir warned that Bt crops – such as Bt beans approved for commercial release in 2019 and 2024, released proteins into the soil that destroyed beneficial microorganisms, degrading soil quality and reducing fertility.
“Studies have found Bt toxins in 93 per cent of pregnant women and 80 per cent of foetal cord blood, raising risks of birth defects, cancer, and allergies,” Casmir added.
Joyce Brown, Director of Programmes at HOMEF, questioned NAFDAC’s recent stance.
“Beyond the MoU signed with NBMA, what is NAFDAC doing about the over 50 processed food brands in our markets labelled as containing GMOs? Did NAFDAC and NBMA certify these products?”
Brown recalled that, in 2018, HOMEF and other CSOs asked NAFDAC if it was aware of the permit granted to WACOT Ltd in 2017 for GM maize.
“NAFDAC replied it was not. MoUs are ineffective if they don’t lead to genuine collaboration and rigorous oversight of processes that affect Nigerians.”
WACOT had tried to illegally import the maize but was stopped by Customs.
NBMA initially said it would be repatriated, but weeks later, WACOT was approved to import it for three years – contrary to the NBMA Act 2015, which requires 270 days’ notice before GMO imports,” she said.
The coalition urged the Senate to ban GMOs to protect indigenous seed varieties, safeguard public health, preserve soil integrity, and promote agroecological solutions.
They also called on the government to tackle the root causes of food insecurity by supporting smallholder farmers with credit, land, infrastructure, and security to enable them to return to their farms.
By Nathan Nwakamma