The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, or NAFDAC, announced on Saturday that it had closed down approximately 11,000 outlets and arrested 40 people in the course of its current nationwide enforcement action against spurious and below-standard medicines.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made this disclosure to newsmen in Lagos on Saturday.
NAFDAC began enforcement action last week in Lagos’ Idumota open drug market, Aba’s Ariaria drug market, and Onitsha’s Bridge market.
The enforcement action at the three markets, which are depots for more than 80% of drugs, is to rid Nigeria of fake and unlicensed drugs, NAFDAC said.
Adeyeye further revealed that more than 20 trucks of substandard drugs were pulled out from various places in Aba, 30 trucks of hard drugs seized were pulled out in Onitsha, and 27 trucks were pulled out from the Idumota market.
She said: “We are winding down our operations in Aba because we have almost completed the evacuation.
“Our next phase is to start going shop by shop to identify those who are registered and those who are not.
“We have closed over 4,000 shops in Onitsha, 3,027 shops in Lagos, and 4,000 shops in Aba since we commenced these operations.
“In Onitsha, we have completed 20 per cent of the work. We need to conduct a holistic operation because some traders are genuine but are not registered under the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria.”
“Three years ago, some of our officers were nearly killed while attempting to carry out a similar major operation in Onitsha.
“This time, our enforcement teams in these three locations were able to carry out their duties without fear.
“The National Security Adviser provided us with 400 officers in Onitsha, 350 in Aba, and over 250 officers in Lagos to ensure the safety of our personnel.”
Adeyeye reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to combating the perpetrators of counterfeit and falsified drugs in the country.
