The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has cried out over threats to her life and that of the agency’s staff following a recent crackdown on counterfeit and illicit drugs in Nigeria.
Speaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday, Prof. Adeyeye revealed that the threats began after NAFDAC’s large-scale enforcement operation in three major drug markets — Onitsha, Aba, and Lagos — which led to the seizure of banned, expired, and fake drugs worth about N1 trillion.
“I told you about the attempted murder about six months ago. One of our staff in Kano — his child was kidnapped because the father was doing what he was supposed to do. Fortunately, the child escaped,” she said.
“For me, I have two policemen living in my house 24/7 in Abuja and Lagos. I don’t have a life. I cannot go anywhere without police, and to me, that is not my way of living. But I don’t have a choice because we’ve got to save our country. Nonetheless, I also use common sense.”
Prof. Adeyeye called on the National Assembly to fast-track the amendment of the NAFDAC Act and the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods Act to include life sentences and the death penalty for those involved in the illicit drug trade.
“With the signing into law of the Proceeds of Crime Act for the forfeiture of assets, the assets recovered from suspects will be treated as proceeds of crime after their conviction by the courts,” she stated.
“We use this opportunity to call on the National Assembly to expedite the amendment of NAFDAC ACT NI LFN and Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods C34 ACT to include LIFE SENTENCE & DEATH PENALTY in the penalties for crimes committed under these Acts.”
The NAFDAC boss described the recent drug seizure as “purely an enforcement operation to protect public health and rid our country of falsified and substandard medical products.”
She disclosed that the exercise, which started on February 9, 2025, involved 1,100 security personnel, including the military, police, and Department of State Services agents.
According to her, the security forces cordoned off the drug markets to prevent traders from smuggling out illegal products.
Prof. Adeyeye noted that 87 truckloads of banned, expired, and fake medical products were confiscated during the operation.
Among the seized items were USAID and UNFPA-donated antiretroviral drugs and condoms, which were either expired or repackaged for sale, undermining Nigeria’s fight against HIV/AIDS.
“Many people are dying, and many have died as a result of the activities of fake drug peddlers,” she lamented.
She further revealed that large volumes of Tramadol, Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), Nitrazepam, and Diazepam — drugs linked to drug abuse and crime — were also recovered. Additionally, a banned drug known as Tafradol, recently outlawed in India, was found in Onitsha.
Prof. Adeyeye said vaccines and prescription medicines requiring cold storage were found stacked in toilets, staircases, and rooftops at dangerously high temperatures. Some drugs were hidden in the plumbing and wooden sections of Onitsha’s Bridge Head Market to avoid detection.
So far, 40 suspects have been arrested, and a database of the offending shops and their owners has been compiled for prosecution.
The NAFDAC DG confirmed that the seized drugs will be publicly destroyed in Aba, Onitsha, and Lagos.
She also disclosed that NAFDAC, in collaboration with the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), plans to relocate all open drug markets within the next year to six Coordinated Wholesale Centres across the country.
The National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, coordinated the security forces involved in the operation.
Prof. Adeyeye’s alarm over death threats brings to mind the challenges faced by her predecessor, the late Prof. Dora Akunyili, who battled drug cartels during her tenure as NAFDAC DG from 2001 to 2009.
Akunyili, whose sister died from fake insulin, faced assassination attempts for her tough stance against counterfeit drugs.
