NAFDAC SEALS ONITSHA DRUG MARKET
REPORTER: CHRIS OBILERI
Authorities of the National Agency For Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down the popular Onitsha Drug Market in Anambra State.
A combined team of the military, police, Department of State Security (DSS) and NAFDAC enforcement officials struck in the early hours of Monday and confiscated some unregistered and adulterated drugs worth millions of naira in the market.
NAFDAC Southeast Zonal Director, Dr. Martins Iluyomade, told journalists that the exercise was part of measures to rid the market of substandard medicines and to safeguard the health of Nigerians.
According to Dr. Iluyomade, a lot of discoveries have been recorded in the market so far, as he alleges that some traders are packaging dangerous drugs for human consumption.
He lamented that sone traders prepare empty containers of manufactured drugs like “ambazol and metacrin” with sealed and expiry dates in their shops which they later sell to the unsuspecting members of the public.
The NAFDAC boss also noted that the operation was in keeping with the mandate of the agency to eliminate all forms of falsified drugs and ensure distribution of genuine medicines across the country.
He emphasized that the federal government was keen on the kind of drugs people buy, stressing that NAFDAC was ready to sanitize all drug markets in the Southeast and beyond to dangers of fake drugs.
Dr. Iluyomade noted that the perpetrators of the adulterated drugs would be identified and prosecuted at the end of the exercise.
The NAFDAC South East Zonal Director told journalists that there had been a working collaboration with the leadership of the market.
He, however, regretted that recently the market leadership became uncooperative as some NAFDAC officials were molested and beaten up while others were taken to court for performing their legitimate duty.
He advised members of the public to be wary of medicines they consume and ensure they procured drugs only from accredited places, especially checking the manufactured and expiry dates.
Though, the traders were not available during the operation, some of them, who spoke with Radio Nigeria, expressed disappointment with the agency for not informing them about the operation.
EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU
