- Says We’re Not Disrupting Trade, We Are Saving Lives
- Blames Porous Borders, Ports For Fake Drugs Importation
- Soludo Seeks FG Support To Halt Infiltration Of Fake Drugs In Anambra
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has defended its recent crackdown on fake drugs across the country and dismissed claims that the organisation was against businesses.
The Matrix reports that over the last couple of days, NAFDAC has intensified its clampdown on fake drug cartels, sealing over 11,000 shops and arresting 40 individuals.
A recent study by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime reveals that up to 500,000 people die annually from counterfeit drugs in Sub-Saharan Africa. The same report shows as many as 267,000 deaths each year from substandard malaria drugs and up to 169,000 deaths each year from fake antibiotics used to treat pneumonia in children.
Between $12 million and $44.7 million is spent each year treating people who have used counterfeit or substandard malaria drugs.
READ MORE: Fake Drugs: NAFDAC Seals over 11,000 Shops
On the home front, in 2022, amid a reported surge of multiple counterfeit drugs in circulation, the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), which is charged with primary health welfare delivery under the Federal Ministry of Health, states that about 70% of drugs distributed in the country are substandard or counterfeit.
Waking up to its responsibilities, NAFDAC has embarked on a crackdown on fake drugs which saw it raiding markets and shops where these substances were discovered.
The agency so far has sealed over 11,000 shops and arrested 40 persons in its crackdown on fake and substandard drugs.
However, this has triggered condemnation from some persons who accuse the agency of unfairness and targeting non-drug sections of some markets.
Refuting the claims, NAFDAC’s Director General Mojisola Adeyeye has hinged the organisation’s actions on “safeguarding” the health of the nation.
“We are not disturbing trade; we are protecting lives. We could not have done it ourselves without the NSA. It is a security risk for our country. What the BBC showed will break your heart. Young men who have been rendered useless,” Adeyeye said in a video posted on NAFDAC’s X handle on Sunday, February 23, 2025 following recent seizures by the agency.
“So, what NAFDAC is doing is what NAFDAC is supposed to do – safeguarding. There is no politics in what we are doing. Most of the shops are not registered by the PCN. PCN registers sites and people that are working on the sites.”
READ ALSO: NAFDAC Shuts Cemetery Market, Seizes ₦5bn Worth Of Fake Food, Drinks
According to her, the crackdown was planned for over a year as a covert operation. The agency started the move from the Idumota Open Drug Market in Lagos, the Ariaria Drug Market in Aba, Abia State, and the Bridge Market in Onitsha, Anambra State on February 10.
NAFDAC said three markets which distribute more than 80 per cent of medications in the country, were targeted to eliminate falsified and unregistered drugs.
“We are winding down our operations in Aba because we have almost completed the evacuation. Our next phase is to inspect shops individually to identify those operating legally and those who are not registered,” the NAFDAC DG said.
“We have closed over 4,000 shops in Onitsha, 3,027 in Lagos, and another 4,000 in Aba since the commencement of these operations. In Onitsha, we have completed only 20 per cent of the work. We need to carry out a thorough operation because some traders, although genuine, are not registered under the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN).”
Continuing, Adeyeye in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics blamed Nigeria’s porous borders and ports for the influx of substandard and counterfeited drugs into the country.
“It is a worry for NAFDAC because they cannot jump into the country. They come through the ports and borders. That is part of the reason for NAFDAC needs more staff members. We need people to man the borders.
“Some borders are not manned because we don’t have enough staff members. We need a lot of funding because you cannot take Okada to start going from place to place looking for companies are looking for shops that have illegal products.
“To address this, the government needs to provide NAFDAC with a lot of support. We don’t bring in only food and drugs, please. We bring in chemicals, chemicals that can be used to make bombs. The National Security Adviser has joined us 100% in these special operations that we’re doing. We have 900 forces working with us now in the three cities – Idumota, Aba and Onitsha. 900 soldiers, policemen, and DSS working with us day and night” she asserted.
Meanwhile, Chukwuma Soludo, the governor of Anambra State, has called on the federal government to step up its efforts to prevent the importation and distribution of counterfeit drugs.
In a post on X on Sunday, Soludo raised concerns about globally banned drugs making their way into Nigeria due to lapses in enforcement by regulatory agencies.
READ ALSO: ‘I Was Brought Up With Agbo’ Says Adeyeye As NAFDAC Seeks Funding For Clinical Trials On Herbal Medicines
During a visit to the Ọgbọ ogwu market in Onitsha, one of the markets sealed by NAFDAC, Soludo described the situation as alarming and urged federal authorities to address the issue at the supply level.
“Many of these drugs have been banned globally, yet they are still being manufactured in India, smuggled through various ports, and sold in our local drug markets. Only the relevant authorities can explain how this happens,” he said.
The governor emphasized the need to clear the market of counterfeit products to enable its reopening.
He also announced that his administration is constructing a “coordinated wholesale drug center” in Oba, Idemili South LGA, to establish a more regulated drug distribution system and eliminate the chaotic trade environment that allows counterfeit drugs to thrive.
