Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye on Sunday announced that about N2b worth of falsified drugs, cosmetics and expired food products, which were seized from two states has been destroyed.
In a statement signed by the NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, the agency’s director explained that the development was part of the agency’s effort to eradicate fake drugs in Nigeria.
She also disclosed that the destruction exercise took place in Kano and Awka, Anambra state.
“The operatives of the Agency had combed the nooks and crannies of the three geo-political zones of the federation, namely, North West, South East and South-South to mop up expired drugs and unwholesome food products with a view to safeguarding the health of the Nigerian people.
“While counterfeit drugs and spurious food products worth over N1.4billion seized from both the South East and South-South zones were destroyed in Awka, Anambra state on Thursday, similar dangerous drugs, and unwholesome food items worth N613m were destroyed at the Kalebawa dumpsite along Kazaure-Daura road, Dambatta, Kano.
Adeyeye warned that henceforth, there would be no hiding place for the merchants of death.
She described such merchant as deriving joy in the unpatriotic act of circulating expired, falsified drugs and food products.
Represented by Barrister Kingsley Ejiofor, the Director of Investigation and Enforcement in the agency, she said that the fake products were seized by the operatives of the agency during various operations in the zones.
According to her, other NAFDAC operatives are all over the country sniffing around to apprehend others who are still in the deadly business.
‘’The estimated value of the products destroyed in Kano is N613,300,290.00 while fake products worth N1, 429,580,683.00 were destroyed in Awka, Anambra State, totalling N2,042,880,973.00’’, she said.
She also said some of the destroyed products include drugs such as antibiotics, antihypertensive, antimalarial, herbal remedies, psychoactive, controlled substance.
‘’Food products such as spaghetti, vegetable oil, non-alcoholic beverages, sachet water, Chocolates, Noodles, etc. were also destroyed as well as cosmetics such as creams, pomade, and insecticides’’, she added.
In her analysis, the destruction of the dangerous products would eliminate the risk of their reintroduction into the market, noting that drug counterfeit is an act of economic sabotage and pose serious threat to public health.
“It is proof of NAFDAC’s resolve to safeguard the health of the people and ensure that only genuine medicines that are wholesome are sold in Nigeria’’, she reiterates.