By Blessing Bature
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has confiscated 137 truckloads of banned, expired and unregistered medicines as well as unauthorised narcotics in an intensified nationwide campaign against the illegal pharmaceutical trade.
NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Lagos on Monday, saying the operation involved the deployment of about 1,350 buses and trucks to disrupt the networks responsible for circulating counterfeit, substandard and illegally traded medicines.
She said the enforcement exercise targeted a wide range of prohibited products, including medicines that had expired, drugs not registered with NAFDAC, banned pharmaceutical products and narcotics that were not approved for distribution.
Adeyeye said the agency approached the operation as a sustained battle, noting that the scale of Nigeria’s illicit medicine market meant that enforcement could not be treated as a one-off exercise.
Using an analogy, she explained that tackling the problem was similar to repeatedly cleaning a heavily contaminated environment, saying several rounds of enforcement might be necessary before lasting results could be achieved.
The NAFDAC chief also addressed reports that a previous enforcement operation in Onitsha had reduced the circulation of fake and substandard medicines in the area by about 75 per cent.
She said the agency would need credible research before validating the figure but acknowledged that any significant decline would indicate that sustained enforcement was yielding results.
According to her, even a reduction of 30 or 50 per cent would represent meaningful progress given the size and longstanding nature of Nigeria’s illicit medicine market.
Adeyeye identified open drug markets as one of the major obstacles confronting the regulatory system, stressing that such activities had persisted for decades, adding that Lagos Trade Fair was among the locations requiring continued regulatory monitoring.
She cautioned that the campaign would not eliminate illegal medicine markets immediately, stressing that a problem that had developed over many years would require consistent enforcement as well as public cooperation.
The NAFDAC boss appealed to Nigerians to avoid purchasing medicines from roadside vendors, street corners and other unauthorised outlets.
She advised consumers to buy from legitimate medicine sellers and insist on obtaining receipts for every purchase.
She further urged consumers to verify that the address indicated on a medicine receipt matches the physical location where the product was bought, explaining that proper documentation helps investigators trace the source of medicines when complaints or suspected counterfeit products are reported.
Adeyeye also encouraged Nigerians to seek guidance from qualified pharmacists before purchasing medicines from approved outlets.
She maintained that consumers have an important role in reducing the circulation of illicit medicines and warned that patronising unregulated vendors could expose individuals and their families to harmful products.
She assured the public that NAFDAC would continue its enforcement activities until illegal medicine markets and other unauthorised distribution channels were brought under effective regulatory control.
