NAFDAC destroys N5.4m of unwholesome drugs, food

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has reiterated its determination to sanitise the food and drug subsectors as it carried out the destruction of confiscated unwholesome products worth N5.4m in Abuja on Wednesday

At the Kuje dump site, a destruction operation was conducted for confiscated or voluntarily surrendered unwholesome products from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Nasarawa state.

The items comprised psychoactive and controlled substances, antibiotics, antihypertensives, antimalarials, herbal snuff, and herbal remedies. These products were either confiscated from hawkers or were handed over, expired, counterfeit, or below standard in quality.

The Director General (DG), Prof Mojisola Adeyeye put the estimated street value of the destroyed products at N535m.

Reiterating NAFDAC’s determination not to relent in its efforts to sanitise the food and drugs subsector, the DG, who was represented at the destruction site by the agency’s Director, Investigation and Enforcement, Francis Ononiwu, said: “I have said it on several platforms that Drug counterfeiting is an act of economic sabotage, and it also represents a serious threat to public health, and NAFDAC under my watch has been repositioned to fight this menace.

The Director General (DG), Prof Mojisola Adeyeye put the estimated street value of the destroyed products at N535m.

Reiterating NAFDAC’s determination not to relent in its efforts to sanitise the food and drugs subsector, the DG, who was represented at the destruction site by the agency’s Director, Investigation and Enforcement, Francis Ononiwu, said: “I have said it on several platforms that Drug counterfeiting is an act of economic sabotage, and it also represents a serious threat to public health, and NAFDAC under my watch has been repositioned to fight this menace.

The Agency has adopted a proactive approach by engaging political, traditional, faith leaders, journalists, and other Nigerians to sensitize their wards on the dangers of dealing with substandard and falsified medicines.”

She urged Nigerians to be on the lookout for spurious and counterfeit medicines, unwholesome foods, and other regulated products and report the same to NAFDAC.

She added: “NAFDAC on its part will ensure continuous surveillance and heightened raids on these products and we shall continue to enforce the regulations governing these products in Nigeria”, she added.

According to her, some of the drugs destroyed are drugs seized from criminal drug hawkers “In July this year the Agency launched a media sensitization campaign on the ‘Dangers of Drug Hawking and Ripening of Fruits with Carbide’.

“The campaign was launched here in FCT and later taken to all the six geopolitical zones of the federation where our message highlighted the dangers of drug hawking and ripening of fruits with carbide.

According to her, some of the drugs destroyed are drugs seized from criminal drug hawkers “In July this year the Agency launched a media sensitization campaign on the ‘Dangers of Drug Hawking and Ripening of Fruits with Carbide’.

“The campaign was launched here in FCT and later taken to all the six geopolitical zones of the federation where our message highlighted the dangers of drug hawking and ripening of fruits with carbide.

The campaign was followed by coordinated raids on drug hawkers and also on illegal distributors of unregistered herbal medicines. These activities resulted in mop-up of expired, substandard, and falsified orthodox and traditional medicines from circulation”‘ she added.

Some of the destroyed unwholesome products were confiscated from drug hawkers, food products such as spaghetti, vegetable oil, and non-alcoholic beverages, including a 1 X 40ft container of unregistered Faurecia instant powdered milk that was handed over to the NAFDAC by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

Also burnt were cosmetics such as creams, lotion, and pomade, including skin-lightening creams seized from spas and beauty centres; chemicals such as fake insecticides and Medical Devices; as well as expired and unwholesome products voluntarily handed over for destruction by compliant companies, Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Association of Community Pharmacy of Nigeria (ACPN), among others.