The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has defended the agency’s decision to shut down markets involved in the sale of counterfeit drugs, emphasising that the move was about public safety, and not to disrupt businesses.
Speaking at a press briefing on Saturday, the NAFDAC Director General, prof. Mojisola Adeyeye reiterated the agency’s commitment to sanitising Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector, particularly in major drug markets across the country.
Over the past few weeks, NAFDAC has intensified its operations in Onitsha, Aba, and Idumota, targeting illegal drug markets and warehouses where counterfeit and unregistered medicines are stored.
The agency, in collaboration with security operatives, has deployed over 1,000 personnel to these locations to enforce compliance and shut down illegal drug hubs.
“People have been telling us that we are disturbing trade. We are not disturbing trade. We are protecting lives. We are protecting our young people from becoming useless,” the DG said.
She recalled a past operation at the Onitsha Head Bridge, where NAFDAC officials and police officers were attacked while attempting to dismantle a network of traders storing fake drugs in plumbing and spare parts shops.
Adeyeye revealed that many of these fake drugs are stored in conditions that make them even more dangerous.
“If you see what we are seeing now, you will weep for our country. These drugs are being kept in places with no windows. Even if they were good drugs, they would degrade in our humidity and temperature. But many of them are not even registered. They are smuggled into the country,” she said.
She cited a case of a hypertensive patient who unknowingly relied on fake medication for years, leading to severe health complications and the loss of three family members to the same condition.
“We are trying to make sure that if you have hypertension, you will get proper treatment because you are taking good medicine. If we are not doing this, people will keep taking bad drugs, and their blood pressure will stay high. They will die,” she added.
According to NAFDAC DG, several dangerous drugs, including high-dose Tramadol (225mg) and the banned Codeine syrup, expired USAID condoms continue to flood Nigerian markets despite efforts to clamp down on their distribution.
“This Tramadol will fry the brain of anyone who takes it. This will destroy the future of our country, our youths, our future,” the DG warned.
She recalled that in 2018, the Ministry of Health had banned Codeine syrup due to its abuse among young people, yet the drug was still being smuggled into the country through illicit channels.
“We have not issued a single import permit since that time, but they keep bringing it in through the back doors. They smuggle it through the ports,” she said.
Addressing concerns about possible political interference, the NAFDAC DG insisted that the agency’s actions were purely about safeguarding public health.
“There is no politics in what we are doing. No politics at all. Most of these companies, most of these shops, are not even registered with PCN. PCN registers sites and the people working at those sites. The rules have been broken from the start,” she stated.
She assured Nigerians that NAFDAC would continue its crackdown on fake and substandard drugs, working closely with security agencies to eliminate illicit drug markets across the country.