The leadership of Ogbo-ogwu Drug Market, Bridge Head, Onitsha, Anambra State, has handed over fake and expired drugs valued at over ₦265 million to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The consignment, which includes expired, banned, fake and substandard medicines, was formally transferred to NAFDAC on Wednesday as part of an ongoing internal cleansing exercise aimed at protecting public health and restoring confidence in Nigeria’s largest drug distribution hub.
Chairman of the market, Mr Chukwuleta Ndubuisi, said the seized drugs were confiscated at different times, noting that some were impounded last year, while others were recovered following recent enforcement actions and raids by NAFDAC within the market.
According to him, the exercise is a sustained campaign rather than a one-off operation, stressing that the market leadership remains resolute in flushing out all forms of unwholesome pharmaceutical products.
“We are here to hand over these seized products to NAFDAC. Before you are drugs worth about ₦265 million, including unwholesome, expired, banned, fake and substandard items,” Ndubuisi said.
He explained that the market had institutionalised periodic internal monitoring long before he assumed office, tracing the roots of the initiative to reforms introduced during the era of the late former NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Dora Akunyili.
“We cannot allow people to sell products that will kill our people. That is why we have placed a task force at strategic points to monitor and intercept counterfeit drug dealers,” he added.
Ndubuisi acknowledged a noticeable reduction in counterfeit drug activities within the market, but warned that smugglers continue to exploit supply routes outside the market to introduce fake medicines.
While commending NAFDAC for its efforts, he called for stiffer penalties and broader enforcement measures to dismantle the networks behind fake drug distribution nationwide.
(Independent)
