The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, has confiscated and evacuated over 100 truckloads of substandard, falsified, and banned medicines from major drug markets in Lagos, Anambra, and Abia states.
The agency’s Director-General, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, revealed this during a press briefing in Lagos on Friday, warning that if such dangerous drugs had remained in circulation, they could have devastating consequences on public health and national security.
“What We Found Could Ruin a Nation”
Prof. Adeyeye stated that the enforcement operations were carried out at Idumota Market in Lagos, Onitsha Market in Anambra, and Aba Market in Abia, leading to the seizure of unregistered, expired, and banned drugs worth over a trillion naira.
She noted that the Idumota and Aba market operations concluded on February 28, while the Onitsha exercise ended on March 8.
“What we found could ruin a nation. What we found could destabilize a government. What we found could reduce the quality of life of millions of Nigerians,” she warned.
Highlighting the dangers of these counterfeit medicines, she stressed the fatal risks they pose to people with chronic illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes.
“If you have diabetes or hypertension that requires daily treatment, using these fake drugs could lead to death,” she added.
Prof. Adeyeye also expressed concern over the impact of the seized narcotics on Nigerian youths, linking them to rising cases of banditry and terrorism.
“With a large population of Nigerian youths under 40, the narcotics we seized could take their lives and contribute to insecurity,” she stated.
According to her, the agency successfully evacuated 27 truckloads from Idumota, while in Aba and Onitsha, about 80 truckloads of banned drugs and narcotics were seized.
She detailed that 14 truckloads were removed from the Osisioma warehouse in Aba, four from the Ariaria Road warehouse, and 10 truckloads from various markets.
In Onitsha, she explained that a plumbing section within the drug market had been used as a storage hub for these illegal medicines, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, causing drug degradation before they reached consumers.
“Our Staff Were Almost Killed”
The NAFDAC boss also recounted the dangers faced by enforcement officials, describing how market traders violently resisted their operations.
“In Onitsha, our staff narrowly escaped death. The merchants of death, disguised as drug dealers, mobbed our police and NAFDAC officers to protect their illegal business,” she revealed.
She added that about seven months ago, two NAFDAC officials were nearly killed in a similar enforcement mission at the Onitsha drug market.
“They were beaten, bloodied, and left bleeding. This is the kind of hazard we face at NAFDAC,” she lamented.
The agency also seized 10 truckloads of Tramadol from the plumbing, wood plank, and fashion lines of the market. Additionally, four truckloads of codeine syrup, which was banned nearly seven years ago, were confiscated.
Despite the challenges, Prof. Adeyeye insisted that these enforcement operations were necessary to protect Nigerians and regulate the pharmaceutical industry.
“NAFDAC is doing this first for public health, secondly to foster trade, and thirdly to reduce the scourge on our country,” she concluded.
