The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 572 pharmacies, patent medicine stores, and illegal medication outlets in Plateau State.
The outlets were closed for a variety of infractions of pharmaceutical regulations, including cooking within drugstores, illegal clinical practice, and unauthorized access to prohibited substances.
Dr. Suleiman Chiroma, the PCN’s head of department, enforcement, made the announcement at a news conference in Jos on Friday, marking the end of a four-day enforcement exercise.
Chiroma, speaking on behalf of the Council’s Registrar/CEO, Ibrahim Ahmed, stated that the operation was carried out in accordance with the Council’s mandate under the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 31 of 2022.
He explained that the initiative was part of efforts to enforce the National Drug Distribution Guidelines, which were designed by the federal government to solve Nigeria’s “chaotic drug distribution system.”
“The major goal of the NDDG is to ensure drug distribution through approved channels, from the point of manufacture or importation to the end user.”
The current enforcement effort is gradually removing unqualified people from the drug supply system and fixing problems with how drugs are stored. This intervention is fundamental to the eradication of substandard and falsified medicinal products,” he said.
The enforcement team traveled to Jos South, Jos North, Mangu, Shendam, Barkin Ladi, Qua’an Pan, and Bassa local government areas.
Chiroma reported that 778 locations were investigated, including 199 pharmacies, 499 patent medicine businesses, and 80 illegal outlets.
“Consequently, 572 premises were sealed, including 120 pharmacies, 372 patent medicine stores, and 80 illegal outlets. In addition, five compliance directives were issued,” he said.
Describing the findings as alarming, Chiroma mentioned that 60 percent of the pharmacies inspected were sealed.
“Of the 199 pharmacies visited, 60 percent were sealed. This finding reflects a deeply concerning standard of pharmaceutical practice within the state and underscores the need for the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria to intensify its regulatory efforts in Plateau State,” he said.
The PHN also raised concerns over the dominance of unqualified medicine outlets in the state.
“It was further observed that only 26 percent of the total premises inspected across the state were pharmacies, while the remainder comprised Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) and illegally operated outlets,” he said.
Infractions uncovered during the exercise included “the unacceptable practice of cooking within pharmaceutical and patent medicine premises; widespread unauthorized clinical practice; unlawful storage and dispensing of medicines beyond the approved legal scope; unauthorized access to poison cupboards by non-pharmacists; and the illegal operation of several premises, particularly by prospective vendors.”
Other violations documented included “failure to produce valid licenses or evidence of registration upon lawful demand, operating illegal premises, and willful obstruction of duly authorized pharmaceutical inspectors from discharging their duties.”
Chiroma issued a warning that the violations posed serious threats to public safety.
“Such practices pose grave risks to public health and national security, as controlled medicines may be diverted into the hands of criminal elements and insurgents,” he said.
Despite the high number of closures, the Council highlighted that unlawful outlets were rather rare.
“Of the 778 premises visited, 10 percent were operating illegally, and these accounted for 14 percent of all premises sealed during the exercise. This indicates a relatively low prevalence of illegal premises in Plateau State,” Chiroma said.
He did, however, regret the low level of compliance among registered pharmacies.
“Only 40 percent of the pharmacies inspected were in good standing, a figure that remains unsatisfactory. A significant number of pharmacies were found to have incomplete registration status,” he stated.
Chiroma emphasized that the PCN “remains unwavering in its statutory mandate to safeguard integrity within the pharmaceutical practice environment. All premises engaged in the handling of medicines shall be subject to rigorous and sustained regulatory oversight.”
The Council appealed to members of the public to patronize only licensed medicine outlets.
