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Tag: NAFDAC

  • Confronting Nigeria’s counterfeit drug crisis

    Confronting Nigeria’s counterfeit drug crisis

    • By Arafat A. Abdulrazaq

    Sir: The resurgence of counterfeit drugs in Nigeria is not just a health crisis; it is a national emergency. Despite past victories in combating the illicit drug trade, fake medicines have increasingly infiltrated pharmacies, markets, and even hospitals, endangering lives and eroding public trust in the healthcare system.

    According to PubMed Central, over 70% of drugs in Nigeria are imported, primarily from countries like India and China—both significant sources of counterfeit medicines. These fake drugs are no longer confined to open drug markets or backstreet vendors; they have now permeated mainstream supply chains.

    From essential antibiotics to life-saving cancer treatments, no category of medication is immune. Meanwhile, local production has surged, with underground operations churning out substandard drugs disguised as reputable brands.

    Corruption at ports and weak international trade enforcement further enable this influx, compounding the challenge. Recently, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) destroyed counterfeit drugs worth N100 billion at the Moniya dump site in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State.

    Seized from pharmaceutical marketers at Lagos’s Idumota market, these fake medicines represent only a fraction of the illicit trade. The consequences are dire. Patients unknowingly consume these dangerous products, which are often ineffective or toxic.

    This has led to numerous deaths from treatable diseases like malaria and typhoid, as inactive or harmful medications fail to deliver the intended cure.

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    Beyond the human toll, the economic impact is substantial. The pharmaceutical industry loses billions of naira annually to counterfeit trade, discouraging investment in local drug manufacturing.

    More critically, the credibility of Nigeria’s healthcare system is at stake, as public confidence continues to wane. Agencies like NAFDAC have had notable successes in the past. Dora Akunyili, one of Nigeria’s most celebrated public servants, served as NAFDAC’s Director-General from 2001 to 2008. Under her leadership, NAFDAC destroyed large quantities of fake drugs, shut down illegal manufacturing plants, and tightened regulatory oversight at ports and border crossings.

    Akunyili’s crusade came at a personal cost. Her unwavering commitment made her a target of threats and assassination attempts by powerful figures within counterfeit drug networks.

    Today, the current Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, faces similar challenges. In a recent interview, she lamented the personal toll of the job, revealing that she now requires round-the-clock police protection. She also disclosed that heightened enforcement by NAFDAC recently led to the seizure of 87 truckloads of substandard and expired medical products, including antiretroviral drugs, condoms, and other compromised supplies.

    This crackdown, conducted at major drug markets in Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba, resulted in the confiscation of fake drugs valued at over N1 trillion—the largest seizure in the agency’s history. Some argue that counterfeiters exploit the system due to inadequate regulatory frameworks and weak enforcement mechanisms.

    In an address to the National Assembly, Prof. Adeyeye called for urgent amendments to the NAFDAC Act N1 LFN and the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods C34 Act, proposing life imprisonment and even the death penalty as punishments for offenders.

    The resurgence of counterfeit drugs in Nigeria is a ticking time bomb, threatening the health and safety of millions. While NAFDAC’s efforts are commendable, the fight against these “merchants of death” requires a united front. Government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare professionals, and the public must all play a role in eradicating this menace.

    Until then, counterfeit drugs will remain a silent killer, lurking in pharmacies and drug stores, waiting to claim more innocent lives.

    •Arafat A. Abdulrazaq, (NYSC),

    Abuja.

  • NAFDAC evacuates 107 truckloads of fake, expired drugs in 10 days

    NAFDAC evacuates 107 truckloads of fake, expired drugs in 10 days

    More than 100 truckloads of substandard, fake, expired, and banned medicines worth over a trillion naira were in six weeks evacuated from Lagos, Onitsha and Aba drug markets.

    In Lagos where officials of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) raided the Idumota Market, 27 truckloads of such medicines were seized and destroyed. 

    Eighty  truckloads were from Ariaria Road Warehouse and Open Drug markets in  Aba, Abia State  as well as  Onitsha, Anambra  markets.

    NAFDAC  Director –General  Mojisola Adeyeye, said yesterday that the  raids on the markets  were concluded 10 days ago.

    “What we found could ruin a nation. What we found could destabilise a government. What we found could reduce the quality of life of millions of Nigerians,” Adeyeye, a professor emeritus of Pharmaceutics and Drug Product Evaluation,  lamented.

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    Adding that narcotics seized from the markets could fuel terrorism and higher crime rates, she said that people suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension were at greater risk because their medications are usually regular.

    Her words: “The narcotics we found could fuel banditry and terrorism. They also take away life.

     “If you have diabetes or hypertension, which need daily treatment, such people could die easily with what we have found.”

      Adeyeye also narrated how NAFDAC officials have been repeatedly attacked while carrying out their duties.

    Citing their  ordeal in Onitsha seven months ago, the NAFDAC  boss, said:  ‘’Our staff members  and the police went on intelligence again and two of them were  almost killed.‘’

    She revealed that the drug trade in Onitsha extended beyond the main market to plumbing, wood/ plank, and fashion sections where hidden warehouses full of illicit medicines are stored.

    “In the plumbing section, we knew through intelligence three or four years ago that something was going on there.

    “About seven months ago at the Onitsha market, NAFDAC staff members went on intelligence again and they almost killed two of them. They bloodied them, They narrowly escaped death.”

    ‘’This is the hazard we go through every time in NAFDAC.” 

    Adeyeye said that despite the threat,  the agency evacuated 14- 40-foot  truckloads of Tramadol and banned codeine syrup from the plumbing, wood plank  and fashion lines of the market. 

    Calling for public support, she emphasised that the raids on drug markets were necessary to protect Nigerians and promote legitimate business.

    “NAFDAC is doing this first for public health, secondly to foster trade, and thirdly to reduce the scourge on our country.”

    She noted that counterfeit drugs hurt local manufacturers.

    “If it’s a counterfeited product from a local manufacturer, that manufacturer cannot get their return on investment because somebody is already counterfeiting their product and selling it cheaper,”  Adeyeye explained.

  • NAFDAC seizes over N1trillion worth of substandard, banned drugs in Lagos, Abia

    NAFDAC seizes over N1trillion worth of substandard, banned drugs in Lagos, Abia

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has confiscated over 100 truckloads of substandard, falsified, expired, and banned medicines worth over ₦1 trillion from three major drug markets in Nigeria.

    The affected markets include Idumota in Lagos, Onitsha in Anambra, and the Aba open drug market in Abia State.

    Speaking on the large-scale enforcement operation, NAFDAC’s Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, warned that the circulation of such dangerous drugs poses a severe threat to public health and could have devastating consequences for the country.

    “What we have found could ruin a nation. What we have found could destabilise a government. What we have found could reduce the quality of life of millions of Nigerians,” she said.

    She further stressed the dangers posed to people with chronic illnesses like diabetes and hypertension, saying, “If you have diabetes, hypertension, which need daily treatment, such people could die easily with what we have found.”

    Prof. Adeyeye also highlighted the risk to Nigerian youths, noting that the narcotics seized from the markets could fuel crime and terrorism.

    “The narcotics we found could take away life from them and fuel banditry and terrorism,” she added.

    The NAFDAC boss disclosed that the enforcement operation began months ago and was concluded in Idumota and Aba on February 28, 2025, while the Onitsha exercise lasted until March 8, 2025.

    Overall, the agency evacuated over 100 40-foot truckloads of illegal medicines, including 27 truckloads already destroyed from Idumota, 80 truckloads of banned and unregistered medicines from Aba and Onitsha, 14 truckloads of violative medicines from the Osisioma warehouse in Aba, four truckloads from Ariaria Road warehouse and 10 truckloads from Aba open drug market.

    In Onitsha, Prof. Adeyeye revealed that the drug trade extended beyond the main drug market, with warehouses hidden in plumbing, wood plank, and fashion sections.

    “In that plumbing section, we knew through intelligence three or four years ago that something was going on there,” she said.

    According to her, NAFDAC officials and police officers narrowly escaped death during an earlier attempt to raid the market.

    “We were there with our police, and our staff and police narrowly escaped death.”

    Prof. Adeyeye also narrated how NAFDAC officials have been repeatedly attacked while carrying out their duties.

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    “About seven months ago at the Onitsha market, NAFDAC staff went on intelligence again and they almost killed two of them. They bloodied them, bleeding. This is the hazard that we go through every time in NAFDAC,” she lamented.

    Despite the challenges, the agency successfully evacuated ten 40-foot truckloads of Tramadol from the plumbing, wood plank, and fashion lines of the market, as well as four truckloads of codeine syrup, which was banned nearly seven years ago.

    Prof. Adeyeye emphasized that the enforcement exercise was necessary to protect Nigerians and promote legitimate business.

    “NAFDAC is doing this first for public health, secondly to foster trade, and thirdly to reduce the scourge on our country.”

    She noted that counterfeit drugs hurt local manufacturers, as fake products make it difficult for them to get a return on their investment.

    “If it’s a counterfeited product from a local manufacturer, that manufacturer cannot get their return on investment because somebody is already counterfeiting their product and selling it cheaper,” she explained.

    She urged Nigerians to support NAFDAC’s efforts in eliminating fake drugs from the market, stressing that lives depend on it.

  • Abominable conduct

    Abominable conduct

    It is sad that some unscrupulous Nigerians would put up for sale critical medical and other items given by donor agencies

    The report that free drugs from donor agencies are on the shelves of drug dealers and traders is disheartening. In a raid by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) recently, drugs donated by the USAID, which are supposed to be given to patients free were amongst the drugs found in the various markets raided for unwholesome drugs in Lagos, Aba and Onitsha.

    According to Prof Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, the Director-General of NAFDAC, “we found products donated by USAID. We found antiretroviral for free use.”

    It is sad that crucial items badly needed by the poor and vulnerable in our society, and which have been given us for free, like mosquito nets, malaria drugs, drugs for the treatment and control of AIDS, and tuberculosis, are confiscated by the receiving agencies and persons in privileged positions and sold to traders. Thus, the poor, who are mostly vulnerable to these diseases have their challenges compounded, as they are denied access to these drugs that they cannot afford to buy.

    But for corruption, we wonder how drugs which have been donated to the country by donor agencies and other charitable organisations would end on the shelves for sale. Such disreputable conduct brings not only disgrace to the country, but in some cases a blacklisting by such donor agencies. Imagine where a donor agency raises funds and sends drugs to our country, based on what they consider needs assessment, and unscrupulous persons get hold of them and start trading on them. Such donor agency would not agree that our country needs such intervention. Yet, Nigeria, like most third world countries, badly needs such assistance.

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    The emergence of Donald Trump as President of the United States has exposed many countries relying on the charitable support of USAID in their health sector. Despite protests at home and abroad, President Trump is taking steps to stop the activities of the agency, because he and his team see the agency as a conduit pipe for corrupt practices in foreign countries.

    There was even the allegation that the agency’s fund is used to fund terrorism in Nigeria. While that allegation may be wide off the mark, the abuses associated with using donated funds or materials for causes different from what the donor agreed to is an abuse that affects future donations.

    The common statement that the intention of the donor should be respected is important. But it amounts to criminality when drugs or materials which are supposed to be given freely are confiscated and diverted to the markets for sale. Such is not only a sin, but a crime which should be punished.

     We hope the security agencies would find out those who gave out the drugs and materials in their custody for sale. We believe that with painstaking effort, the origin and channel of the drugs and materials can be traced and those abusing the goodwill of foreign donors stopped. Nigeria, which is still afflicted by primary diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, diphtheria and even water- borne disease, is already exposed to secondary diseases like hypertension, cancer and heart-related ailments, and, with limited resources, needs all the support from generous donor agencies. So, unscrupulous elements must not be allowed to soil the reputation of our country or deny her of such needed support.

    But for the sagacity of the political leadership of our country, many persons under the aegis of USAID would have been thrown into the labour market, after the government of President Trump cut down, and even eliminated, in some cases, funding from the agency. Similar challenge will be faced in the various branches of our health sector when donated materials are abused.

    It is sad that what we witnessed with food items donated as palliatives during COVID-19 pandemic is happening in the health sector. We witnessed the horror associated with warehouses housing donated food items while the poor and vulnerable were hungry during the challenge posed by the pandemic.

    We consider the finding of donated items in the markets a national embarrassment. Such a thing has made our country a topic of discussion amongst international donor agencies.

    The NGOs involved in this bad behaviour should be fished out and punished, and if they are persistent, they should be deregistered. Those behind them should also be exposed and charged to court for their criminal activities, which also embarrass the country.

    We urge the National Assembly and other relevant organs of government to engage in rigorous oversight of the NGOs involved in receiving and distribution of such donated items. 

    We commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for directing the NSA to provide the needed support to NAFDAC, to take on these criminals masquerading as drug dealers. Without mincing words, they are criminals. Since they have no moral scruples about the disreputable conduct of selling donated drugs, the government owes it a responsibility to use every reasonable force to stamp them out.

  • NAFDAC shuts three warehouses in Ekiti

    NAFDAC shuts three warehouses in Ekiti

    Three major assorted raw food warehouses have been shut down in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti capital, by the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

    This is contained in a statement by the NAFDAC State Coordinator, Mrs Stella Dosumu on Friday in Ado-Ekiti.

    Dosumu said the warehouses were closed over varied degrees of infractions, allegedly targeted at short-changing unsuspecting members of the public.

    According to her, the closure is in continuation of the NAFDAC  Director General’s efforts to rid the society of fake, counterfeit and substandard medicinal and wholesome items in Ekiti.

    “The closure took place on Wednesday, March 11, infractions of the agency’s laws.

    “The action followed a tip off by a concerned citizen that illegal re-bagging of rice was being done in some warehouses.

    “This led the state coordinator and her team to conduct surveillance  on  the implicated warehouses to confirm the information.”

    Dosumu said the finding revealed that several bails of empty bags of popular local and foreign rice were in the warehouses, while different brands of rice had already been re-bagged.

    She said that sewing and sealing machines were also found in the warehouses.

    Read Also: NAFDAC takes campaign against drug abuse among youths, teenagers to Ogbomoso

    According to her, the managers at the warehouses, refused to disclose the source of the rice that were being re-bagged, hence, the status of the rice cannot be ascertained.

    “It is a dangerous trend that is capable of compromising the health of  consumers, as well as misleading labelling information.

    “In the interim, the bails of empty bags of different brands of rice found in the warehouses were mopped; samples of the re-bagged rice were taken for laboratory analysis, while the warehouses were shutdown.

    “This is pending the outcome of the laboratory reports, before further regulatory actions can be determined,’’ she said.

    Dosumu, however, reassured the public that the agency would continue to pursue its  mandate of safeguarding the health of  citizens, by ensuring  both drug and food safety in Nigeria.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this is coming just as the Director General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, warned that there was no hiding place for criminals.

    Adeyeye  described some of the people as ‘merchants of death’ in the country, who had  chosen to trade in regulated products, illegally.

    (NAN)

  • Suicide pills

    Suicide pills

    •NAFDAC officials need extra security against a daredevil cartel of cold-blooded citizens who imperil our lives with over N1 trn fake drugs

    Given past reports of discoveries and seizures of fake and adulterated food and pharmaceutical products in parts of the country, Nigerians could never have been in doubt about the depth of the scourge that they face in the foods and medicines sector, that threatens their survival. Whether it is over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, foods and drinks, or even the restricted prescription life-saving drugs, the story of mindless counterfeiting and fakery by unscrupulous merchants and importers may have long ceased to shock Nigerians.

    However, the latest announcement of the seizure of illicit and fake drugs valued at over N1 trillion is not only a measure of how the scourge has metastasised, but has assumed a dire existential one. By now, Nigerians must have come across the update on the recent large-scale enforcement operation by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), about how three major open drug markets located in Onitsha, Aba, and Lagos, are

    responsible for the heft, and with it the heightened threats on the lives of the agency’s operatives.

    The wreckage is immense. The poor who want diabetes drugs, want hypertension relief, diarrhea cure, malaria holiday, all pay to die. They pay for drugs to live another day but enrich the ruthless to puff another year with money of other people. Those innocents, rich or poor, expire so cartel goons can enjoy. We cannot let this continue. Those who take those medicines take poisons, and unconsciously swallow suicide pills.

    In the first place, the activities of those behind the merchandise of death amount to a declaration of war on the country, particularly the innocent, unsuspecting fellow citizens. Even that is merely to admit to what is already common knowledge of the devastation being wreaked, on a daily basis, on the nation’s public health. Secondly, the seizures recorded in the three markets could be attributed to painstaking intelligence, yet they could, in fact, be a tip of the iceberg in a nation. Poverty and illiteracy have made the attraction to those cheap but dangerous toxins merely compounds  of the national tragedy.

    The third, and which must be no less concerning, is what the large-scale seizure suggest: either that the war on fake and adulterated and substandard drugs has not matched the imperatives of the current time, or an evidential erosion of the gains the country recorded in the past.

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    Fourth is the foreign dimension to the crisis, going by the recent BBC Eye investigation of how an Indian pharma firm, Aveo Pharmaceuticals, based in Mumbai, is fuelling West Africa’s opioid crisis.The latter, beyond mere attestation of where we are, or even a candid window into how things have degenerated over time, must have been a shocking revelation on the activities of unscrupulous foreign drug makers for whom the illicit trade is just business.

    In fact, the BBC actually filmed one of Aveo’s directors, Vinod Sharma, holding a box of pills made in his factory proclaiming: “This is very harmful for their health — but nowadays, this is business.” This is a firm, said to manufacture a wide range of pills under different brand names, using among the mix of ingredients tapentadol, a powerful opioid, and carisoprodol, which aside being banned in Europe, is not known to have been licensed for use anywhere in the world, particularly as they are known to cause breathing difficulties and seizures.

    At this time, we cannot but commend NAFDAC for raising the tempo. Equally worthy of commendation is the agency’s collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), which not only provided the security backup but ensured that the agency was enabled to do its job. We urge that the model be retained as the standard, going forward.

    However, keeping the affected entities out of their illegitimate businesses can only be the first step. The next step is to ensure full restitution in accordance with the law. We expect that to complement the current drive to sanitise the foods and drugs sector.  Moreover, given the emergency that the menace has assumed, we would go as far as to recommend that the Nigerian Customs Service, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and no less, the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria be enlisted in the fight, as all of them, in various shades and degrees, have legitimate interests in their regulation. It should neither be seen as a one-off fight or an ad hoc one.

    Simply because the country has been here before, we cannot afford to forget some of the lessons. Already, the agency’s boss, Prof Moji Adeyeye, has sounded the alarm about her life, as indeed those of her staff, being threatened. Of course, we are not surprised that things have come to that. What it brings to mind is the Dora Akunyili era in NAFDAC. Her tenure, in the course of the titanic engagement with these merchants of death, saw her in close shaves with death. Therefore what is happening now is not something that should be difficult to imagine: a cartel that saw nothing wrong with investing trillions in the enterprise of death and societal disorder will think little of taking out those individuals perceived to be standing in the way of their illegitimate businesses. What the situation calls for, is a robust challenge that only the security agencies, particularly the

    Department of State Services (DSS), can guarantee. Thankfully, the battle has since been recognised by no less than the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, as posing existential threat to the future of the country.  That is most certainly, a major step forward. He should get cracking with the challenge.

    Beyond all of the above however is how the entire foods and drugs manufacturing sector itself reacts to these threats. Surely, they have a greater job to do in product differentiation and packaging. After all, the challenge comes basically to ensuring that suicide pills are not allowed to find their way into our shores let alone into the domestic markets under any guise. The situation calls for an industry-wide rethinking of the current methodologies of sale, packaging as indeed marketing of not just prescription drugs, but any ingestible material put out for sale.

    To the extent that the challenge touches upon the public health, it is something that deserves to be taken seriously, now.

  • NAFDAC takes campaign against drug abuse among youths, teenagers to Ogbomoso

    NAFDAC takes campaign against drug abuse among youths, teenagers to Ogbomoso

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has taken its “NAFDAC Catch Them Young” campaign against drug abuse to Ogbomoso, Oyo State, aiming to educate youths and teenagers on the dangers of substance abuse.

    Speaking to students at Ogbomoso High School, NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, represented by the agency’s Oyo State Coordinator, Pharm. Sam Adeyemi, emphasized the urgency of tackling drug abuse among young people, describing the trend as alarming.

    Adeyeye warned that drug abuse could lead to mental health disorders, addiction, organ damage, impaired memory, and psychosis. 

    He urged students to resist peer pressure, seek professional guidance, focus on their studies, and only take prescribed medications.

    The campaign is part of NAFDAC’s nationwide effort to curb drug abuse and promote healthier lifestyles among Nigerian youths.

    He said, “The NAFDAC Catch Them Young Programme is a comprehensive and coordinated intensive programme focused on secondary schools, designed to resudce prevalence of drug abuse among secondary school students. This programme is not designed to scare anyone but to have honest conversation with you, which will help you to take informed decisions with regards to illicit drug use including alcohol consumption.

    “NCSC is one of the agency special public enlightenment strategies targeting the youths in the society in it’s effort to eradicate fake and substandard regulated products and enthrone a quality culture while employing the use of curting-edge technology to track counterfeit.

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    “NAFDAC has taken the campaign against drug abuse to the grass route by reestablishing NCSC in secondary schools where we will in collaboration with the school teacher with junior and senior secondary schools students to catch them Young and prevent lives addition and destruction.”

    “NAFDAC mission is to mould a future generations that is not only empowered to be upright but demand uprightness from others.”

    In her remarks, the Principal, Ogbomoso High School, Mrs. Olajumoke Oyekan commended NAFDAC for it’s initiative, describing the agency as one of government agency that has transformed and save lives of many Nigerian.

    She however said the sensitisation will go along way in changing life’s of students for good and remodel their life’s to become better person in the nearest future.

  • Imported leprosy medicines: NAFDAC insists on due diligence

    Imported leprosy medicines: NAFDAC insists on due diligence

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has clarified that the delay in approving the importation of a leprosy medication into Nigeria was due to its commitment to due diligence, contrary to the impression created by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in a recent report.  

    In its recent publication titled ‘Vital Leprosy Drugs Due in Nigeria After a Year-Long Delay’, the BBC reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) had urged NAFDAC to lift its new testing policy, which had delayed the importation of anti-leprosy medicines for a year, and grant approval for their importation to aid patients in need.

    In response to the misleading impression created by the publication, the agency reaffirmed its commitment to protecting public health, emphasizing that all medicines intended for export to Nigeria must undergo thorough due diligence and that no external appeals will override this process without scientific evidence.

    In a statement on Monday, the agency’s Director General (DG), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said her response was to provide clear and accurate details on what transpired and to dispel the misinformation in circulation that NAFDAC prevented/delayed the entry of the medicines into Nigeria. 

    She said: “NAFDAC was set up to safeguard public health through a legal and regulatory framework that would ensure the availability of safe, efficacious, and quality medicines. 

    “On the strength of this mandate, NAFDAC set up the Clean Report of Inspection and Analysis (CRIA) Scheme to ensure that products leaving high-risk countries like China and India meet quality requirements before they are exported to Nigeria. 

    “This policy has been in place since 2002 but was strengthened in 2020 to guarantee that the purpose of setting up the scheme is achieved. 

    “For medicines to be exported to Nigeria, one of the requirements for processing the CRIA is the submission of a Certificate of Pharmaceutical Products (CoPP). 

    “The CoPP is a quality assurance document presented as an export document to the receiving regulatory authority that a consignment of medicines has undergone validated quality and inspection checks by the regulatory authority of the exporting country. 

    “The COPP certification scheme was developed by the WHO as an international voluntary agreement that provides assurance to receiving countries to rely on the document as a proof that medicines moving in international trade have undergone necessary Good Manufacturing (GMP) requirements and an attestation as meeting, quality, safety, and efficacy requirements. 

    “The COPP is issued based on the WHO Guideline which requires that the issuing authority takes responsibility for assuring the receiving country that the certified data is authentic, that the manufacturing process of all batches of the medical products conform to GMP standards based on Inspections conducted by the issuing authority.

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    “Unfortunately, due process was not followed in ensuring that the manufacturer of the said consignment of antileprosy drugs (Rifampicin) obtained this quality assurance document from the Indian Regulatory Authority. 

    “To remedy the situation, the WHO requested a waiver of this important documentation requirement.  

    “NAFDAC, upon receipt of the appeal from the WHO, requested for the laboratory evaluation report of the consignment of Rifampicin from one of the NAFDAC-approved CRIA Laboratories in India. 

    “This was to ensure that the said products had satisfactory quality, safety, and efficacy results before they can be shipped to Nigeria. 

    “On the strength of the satisfactory laboratory result and based on appeals, assurances, and the need to replenish stock out of the product for patients who need them, approval was granted for the release of the shipment of Rifampicin for export to Nigeria.

    “NAFDAC is currently working with local industry to reduce the over-dependence on imported finished pharmaceutical products through regulatory systems strengthening and capacity building for local pharma manufacturers in Nigeria. 

    “This is, therefore, to assure the public that NAFDAC will continue to ensure that only quality, safe and efficacious medicines are available for distribution, sale and use within Nigeria

  • NAFDAC destroys N100 billionsubstandard drugs in Ibadan

    NAFDAC destroys N100 billionsubstandard drugs in Ibadan

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Saturday destroyed N100 billion worth of substandard drugs in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

    The agency said the destruction became necessary to prevent reintroduction of expired, fake, substandard, and falsified drugs into circulation.

      Speaking during the destruction of the drugs held at Akinyele dump site, Ibadan, the Director General (DG) of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye said NAFDAC as the lead agency and chair of the Federal Task Force on Fake and Counterfeit Drugs and Unwholesome Processed  Foods is firmly committed to ensuring that food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals, packaged water, and drinks are safe, wholesome, and effective for human consumption. According to her, NAFDAC has established stringent guidelines for licensing, selling, and distributing drug products as part of its commitment to ensuring safe and quality medicine.

    Adeyeye, who was represented at the event by NAFDAC Director of Narcotics and Controlled Substances, Yedunni Adenuga, said NAFDAC’s recent enforcement activities at the Idumota, Onitsha, Ariara, Ezeuku open drug markets was mind-boggling.

    Read Also: NAFDAC raises alarm, says over 14.3million Nigerians affected by drug abuse

    She said: “The discovery of unregistered products, banned products such as Analgin, controlled substances such as Tramadol 225mg amongst others, which are part of the things making our country unsafe in terms of security.

    “This operation could not have been made possible without the support of the National Security Adviser (NSA) who graciously approved the use of over 1000 security personnel, including the Military, Police and DSS.

    “Today, you are witnessing the destruction of expired, falsified, controlled, unregistered, and banned medicines removed from Idumota Open Drug outlets.

    “The estimated street value of these products being destroyed stands at One Hundred Billion Naira (N100,000,000,000).

    “During the three-week exercise, several suspects were apprehended. Further investigation is being carried out; those found culpable will be sanctioned.”

  • NAFDAC raises alarm, says over 14.3million Nigerians affected by drug abuse

    NAFDAC raises alarm, says over 14.3million Nigerians affected by drug abuse

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has revealed that 14.3 million Nigerians are victims of drug abuse, describing the figure as alarming.

    The agency warned that two-thirds of those who abuse drugs suffer severe consequences, urging Nigerians to shun the harmful practice.

    Speaking at Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo, during the NAFDAC Catch Them Young initiative and the inauguration of the NAFDAC Consumer Safety Club (NCSC) for secondary school students, the agency’s Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, emphasized that the fight against drug abuse is crucial for Nigeria’s future.

    Represented by NAFDAC’s Oyo State Coordinator, Pharm. Sam Adeyemi, Adeyeye called for collaboration among stakeholders to strengthen drug reduction programs, particularly targeting secondary schools.

    He highlighted the dangers of drug abuse among students, including absenteeism, poor academic performance, and neglect of family responsibilities. 

    He stressed that every victim of drug abuse belongs to a family and a community, making collective action essential.

    Adeyeye also urged teachers to play an active role in combating drug abuse by working closely with parents and guardians to curb the growing menace among young Nigerians.

    “Teachers should not be judgemental but should create enabling environment for students to ask questions, teachers must emphasised that drug abuse is dangerous.”

    He urged members of NAFDAC of NCSC to assist in information flow on NAFDAC regulatory activities and promote the fight against drug abuse, fake and counterfeit regulated products 

    “NAFDAC mission is to mould a future generations that is not only empowered to be upright but demand uprightness from others.

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    “The NAFDAC Catch Them Young Programme is a comprehensive and coordinated intensive programme focused on secondary schools, designed to resudce prevalence of drug abuse among secondary school students.

    “This programme is not designed to scare anyone but to have honest conversation with you, which will help you to take informed decisions with regards to illicit drug use including alcohol consumption 

    “NCSC is one of the agency special public enlightenment strategies targeting the youths in the society in it’s effort to eradicate fake and substandard regulated products and enthrone a quality culture while employing the use of curting-edge technology to track counterfeit 

    “NAFDAC has taken the campaign against drug abuse to the grass route by reestablishing NCSC in secondary schools where we will in collaboration with the school teacher with junior and senior secondary schools students to catch them Young and prevent lives addition and destruction.”