The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Sunday threatened those it described as merchants of death to desist or face very tough time in 2025.
The agency also pledged to intensify its efforts at fighting against substandard and falsified medicines, as well as unwholesome food products, in the coming year.
Director General NFDAC Professor Mojisola Adeyeye said this in her New Year message, conveyed by the agency’s resident media consultant, Sayo Akintola.
She reassured the public that robust measures were being implemented to safeguard the health of Nigerians during and after the festive season.
As a demonstration of its resolve to eliminate unwholesome pharmaceuticals, the NAFDAC boss highlighted recent enforcement actions across the country, which led to the apprehension of manufacturers and merchants of fake drugs and unwholesome foods, with products worth billions of Naira confiscated in the last three months.
“On Wednesday, December 11, 2024, the Agency destroyed expired, unregistered drugs worth ₦11 billion in Ibadan, Oyo State.
“In November, the Agency seized ₦300m worth of fake medicines during a raid of Tyre Village, Trade Fair Complex, Lagos State.
“Officers of the Agency also burst counterfeit alcohol packaging centres and seized items worth ₦2billion in Lagos.
“This followed reports of illegal revalidation of expired alcoholic beverages at the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos.
“The war against substandard and falsified medicines and unwholesome food and drinks moved to Nasarawa State where officers of the Agency, led by the Director of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Directorate, Mr Kenneth Azikiwe stormed the Karu market situated at the border between FCT and Nasarawa State where bags of repackaged expired rice were confiscated by the Agency.
“Products worth about N5 billion were seized during the raid.
“Also, in Nasarawa state, the Agency sealed a factory and eight shops for packaging and distributing counterfeit rice, valued at approximately N5 billion.
“The operation, conducted on December 19, targeted a facility named Ninjur Ventures on Abacha Road, Karu.
“It would seem as though these merchants of substandard and fake products are seizing the opportunity of the anticipated high level of consumer purchases and consumption during the yuletide.
“At Wuse and Garki markets in Abuja last Friday the agency confiscated over 1,600 bags of counterfeit rice worth about ₦5billion where counterfeit rice was being repackaged in branded bags,” she said.
While noting that only safe, quality, and wholesome food products should be available to Nigerians during the yuletide and beyond, she strongly directed that those counterfeiting popular brands of rice should be arrested and their products removed from the market.
She said, simultaneously, a total of 150 shops at Eziukwu Market in Aba, a suburb of Abia State, were shut down following an operation by the agency.
Adeyeye said: “As the mop-up operation was going on in the FCT and Nasarawa State, NAFDAC was carrying out a two-day operation in the Aba market on December 16 and 17, 2024.
“During the operation, the agency uncovered large-scale production and distribution of fake and expired goods including beverages, carbonated drinks, wines, spirits, vegetable oils, and revalidated food items such as noodles, powdered milk, and yoghurt with a market value of ₦5bn.
“The Agency on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, also destroyed expired, unregistered, counterfeit, and smuggled products valued at N10, 991,458,374.60.
“The destroyed items, collected from five states in the Southwest Zone (excluding Lagos) and Kwara State in the North Central Zone due to its proximity, were incinerated in Ibadan.
“In total, over N120bn worth of seized products were destroyed by the Agency in six months (July-December) in the six geo-political zones and FCT.”
NAFDAC further said it would not rest until the merchants of death were forced out of operation, warning that it would make it hard for them to operate freely and endanger the health of innocent consumers.
She also said the Investigation and Enforcement Directorate (I&E) of the agency would continue the ongoing mop-up of substandard and falsified medicines and unwholesome food items from the markets across the country.
Adeyeye said: “The coming year will be tough for the people that prioritize money over the wellbeing of their fellow human beings by compromising the quality of medicines and food products in the country.”
The NAFDAC boss advised consumers to consistently scrutinise medicines and branded drinks carefully to distinguish genuine products from counterfeits before consumption.
“NAFDAC wishes to advise that the members of the public should be vigilant during this yuletide season.
“We are using this medium to appeal to Nigerians to buy only NAFDAC-registered drinks from reputable and licenced retailers, bars and supermarkets.
“If the product is being sold well below its normal price, or doesn’t seem to include normal taxes on liquors, then it is probably fake. Check for poor quality packaging, spelling mistakes and unusually shaped bottles,” she added.
