A coalition of civil society organisations on Monday expressed concern over the conflicting positions of federal government agencies on the safety of genetically modified organisms in the food chain.

The CSO’s concerns were voiced by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Environmental Rights Action, and the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance in a statement.

Their position was contained in a statement signed by 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 in matters related to food and drugs, particularly regarding the safety of GMOs.

The coalition, comprising over 80 civil society organisations, researchers, farmers, and women’s and youth groups representing the interests of millions of Nigerians, stated that the divergent views of regulators were unacceptable.

Recall that Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, on August 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,” Ms Adeyeye said at the time.

However, in June 2024, Ms Adeyeye had taken a different stance, expressing concern over the safety of GMOs in Nigeria.

She had stated that “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 expressed bafflement over NAFDAC’s sudden shift in 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 said. “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.”

ERA’s deputy executive director, Mariann Bassey-Olsson, warned of threats to Nigeria’s food sovereignty. She said GMOs risked contaminating indigenous seed varieties through gene transfer, a problem that was irreversible.

Johnson Ekpere, an independent consultant and convener of the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, said, “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 Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of HOMEF, who stated that the dangers of GMOs extend 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.

Mr 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.

The coalition further quoted medical and molecular microbiologist Ifeanyi Casmir, who 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,” Mr Casmir added.

(NAN)