NAFDAC Shuts Over 11,000 Shops, Arrests 40 Suspects Over Fake Drugs

In its ongoing nationwide crackdown on fake and subpar medications, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has closed over 11, 000 stores and taken 40 people into custody.

Briefing journalists on Saturday in Lagos, NAFDAC Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, stated that the enforcement had been planned for over a year as a covert operation.

On February 10, NAFDAC began enforcing laws at the Idumota open drug market, the Ariaria drug market in Aba, and the Onitsha Bridge market in Onitsha.

It noted that three markets, which distribute over 80 per cent of medications nationwide, were targeted to eliminate falsified and unregistered drugs.

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Adeyeye found that 27 trucks had been taken from the Idumota market, at least 30 trucks had been seized in Onitsha, and over 20 trucks had been evacuated from various locations in Aba.

Because the evacuation is almost complete, we are winding down our operations in Aba.

Our next step will be to individually check which stores are registered and which are operating legally.

“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. Because some traders, while legitimate, are not regulated by the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), we need to conduct a thorough operation.

NAFDAC’s Director-General commended the leadership of the National Security Agency, Nuhu Ribadu, for providing adequate security, noting that their support made the operation possible.

“Through a similar operation in Onitsha three years ago, some of our officers were close to dying.”

Our law enforcement teams in these three locations performed their jobs without incident.

Source: Channels TV