The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) revealed it evacuated over 100 truckloads of substandard, fake, and banned medicines and narcotics from Idumota Market in Lagos State, Onitsha Market in Abambra State, and Aba Market in Abia State in six weeks.
The agency’s resident consultant, Sayo Akintola, issued a press statement on Sunday.
NAFDAC Director Prof. Moji Adeyeye warned that allowing substandard and banned medicines in circulation could harm the nation by lowering the quality of life for millions of Nigerians.
Adeyeye spoke at a briefing in Lagos on Friday, providing an update on enforcement efforts in three areas where unregulated medicines were found.
She further stated that the agency completed the enforcement in Idumota and Aba on February 28, 2025, while the exercise in Onitsha ended on March 8.
“What we have found could ruin a nation. What we have found could destabilise a government. What we have found could reduce the quality of life of millions of Nigerians,” she said, adding, “If you have diabetes or hypertension which needs daily treatment, such people could die easily with what we have found.”
The NAFDAC head claimed that with a big population of Nigerian youths under the age of 40, the seized drugs might kill them and fuel banditry and terrorism.
“Overall, she said over 100 40-foot truckloads were evacuated, with 27 truckloads from Idumota already destroyed, while in Aba and Onitsha markets, about 80 40-foot truckloads of unregistered, banned medicines and narcotics were seized and evacuated.
“For Aba and the environment, she disclosed that 14 truckloads of violative medicines were evacuated from the Osisioma warehouse alone, four truckloads from the Ariara Road warehouse and ten truckloads of the medicines were seized from the markets.
“According to her, in Onitsha, there are 110 lines where they sell drugs, aside from the plumbing market and the wood plank markets. From the plumbing section, Prof. Adeyeye explained that warehouses were filled to the brim, without windows, with temperatures more than 40 degrees Celsius, subjecting the medicines to degradation before the user starts to use them. In that plumbing section, we knew through intelligence three or four years ago that something was going on there, adding that we were there with our police, and our staff and police narrowly escaped death,” the statement noted.
Adeyeye added that the merchants of death, who posed as medicine dealers among the shop owners, mobbed the police and NAFDAC employees to safeguard their illegal activity.
She further stated that around seven months ago, at the Onitsha market, NAFDAC personnel went on intelligence and nearly killed two of them.
“They bloodied them, bleeding. This is the hazard that we go through every time in NAFDAC,” she said.
She stated that the authorities evacuated 10 40-foot truckloads of tramadol from the market’s plumbing, wood plank, and fashion lines, as well as approximately four truckloads of codeine syrup that had been outlawed nearly seven years ago.
She did, however, highlight the need for the agency conducting market enforcement to save Nigerian lives and promote trade.
“NAFDAC is doing this first for public health, secondly to foster trade, and thirdly to reduce the scourge on our country,” she added.
