Traders at the popular Bridge Head Medicine Market, also known as Ogbo-Ogwu Market, Onitsha, Anambra State, have handed over fake, expired and substandard drugs valued at about N265 million to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.
The drugs were officially presented to NAFDAC by the Chairman of Ogbo-Ogwu Market, Mr Ndubisi Chukwuleta, at the agency’s office in Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area of the state.
Chukwuleta said the drugs were seized by the market’s internal taskforce during routine checks and follow-up operations after previous raids by NAFDAC earlier in the year.
He explained that the market leadership decided to support regulatory efforts by ensuring unsafe medicines are removed before they get to the public.
“We are here to hand over these seized products to NAFDAC. They include unwholesome, expired, banned, fake and substandard products, worth approximately N265 million,” Chukwuleta said.
He added, “Some were seized last year, while others were confiscated after NAFDAC’s recent operations. We will not allow merchants of death masquerading as traders to sell products that harm Nigerians.”
The market chairman said the taskforce regularly monitors traders and conducts searches to fish out dealers in fake and expired drugs.
According to him, the exercise has not been easy, as some traders have resisted the effort.
“Despite intimidation and opposition, we will not relent in our fight against fake drugs,” he said, adding that monitoring will continue until all illegal drug activities are eliminated from the market.
Receiving the drugs, the Anambra State Coordinator of NAFDAC, Pharm. Louis Maduabattah, praised the market leadership for what he described as a responsible and proactive move.
Maduabattah disclosed that more than 400 cartons of pharmaceutical products, mostly expired and unregistered, were handed over and would be kept in NAFDAC’s warehouse before being destroyed.
“This is a commendable initiative,” he said. “Expired products must be handed over to NAFDAC for proper disposal, and the market’s mechanism to remove unwholesome products is exemplary.”
He added that such actions help protect Nigerians from dangerous medicines and encourage compliance with drug regulations.
The handover highlights continued collaboration between market authorities and NAFDAC to protect public health and stop the circulation of fake and unsafe drugs in the country.
