Cintia A. , Lebledparle.com
The Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, made this revelation while speaking to newsmen in Lagos, emphasising on the urgent need for tighter border security to prevent the smuggling of counterfeit drugs and other harmful products into the country. This extensive operation is part of the ongoing crackdown on illicit drug dealers in major markets, and so far the agency has shut down 11,000 shops and arrested 40 suspects.
Among the discovered items were vaccines, several controlled substances, Tramadol boxes, expired condoms meant to be destroyed since 2022, and anti-retroviral drugs. Also found were large quantities of products that had been banned for over five years such as, Analgin and products donated by USAID. They equally discovered machines used to revalidate expired drugs with medicines whose expiration date was since 2022 but were altered to appear valid until 2028.
Presenting the scale of the operation, Professor Adeyeye called for more personnel to sustain the fight against illicit drugs, stating that over 1,000 security officers are needed in Onitsha, 350 in Aba, and 250 in Idumota, Lagos State. She also emphasized the need for collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) and support from the National Security Adviser.
The NAFDAC DG urged Nigerians to buy their medications only from approved and reputable pharmacy stores to avoid the dangers associated with counterfeit drugs.
Nigeria has been battling with the commercialisation of fake and banned drugs which keeps skyrocketing day by day. It is worth noting that two weeks ago NAFDAC raided Ekumi Plaza, a well-known drug market in Aba, Abia State, where large quantities of unregistered, banned, and fake pharmaceutical products were seized.
