The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered large quantities of expired condoms and antiretroviral drugs donated by USAID and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) during recent raids in Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba warehouses.
NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Wednesday during the ‘Meet The Press’ briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
She said the regulatory agency had removed 87 truckloads of banned, expired, unregistered, and falsified medical products from over 7,000 shops inspected in the three markets.
“A database of these shops and the offences committed has been created for further steps. More than 40 arrests have been made, which will be followed by prosecution,” she said.
Adeyeye revealed that she had received threats to her life due to the agency’s operations.
“I move everywhere with security operatives. This is not my lifestyle, but I have to adapt to it,” she said.
The raids, which have drawn significant reactions, revealed that several pharmaceutical products—including vaccines and prescription-only medicines—were stored in unsuitable conditions, such as toilets, rooftops, and under staircases, exposing them to extreme temperatures.
NAFDAC also found oxytocin injections and other thermolabile drugs stored in conditions that could render them ineffective.
“The problem is not only about the originality of the products but about the environment and storage. Products recommended to be stored at -8°C, -2°C to 8°C were found in this environment,” Adeyeye said.
The agency also discovered large quantities of controlled drugs, including TAFRADOL, a drug recently banned in India following a BBC undercover investigation that exposed its manufacturer for exporting illicit drugs to Africa, including Nigeria.
“This drug combination has not been licensed anywhere in the world and is outrightly banned for use in the European Union,” she said.
Other controlled substances, including tramadol, Rohypnol (flunitrazepam), nitrazepam, and diazepam, were also seized.
“The volume of narcotics and controlled substances seized from each of these locations is enough to destabilize the country security-wise,” Adeyeye warned.
She further disclosed that NAFDAC had found “large quantities of donated antiretroviral drugs, expired female and male condoms by USAID and UNFPA.”
Addressing the continued closure of the Onitsha Head Bridge Market, Adeyeye said the issue had gone beyond NAFDAC’s jurisdiction.
“For the remaining period of the exercise, shops that have non-violative or non-NAFDAC regulated products are being reopened while owners of such shops are being asked to sign undertakings that they agree to relocate to designated Coordinated Wholesale Centres (CWC) on completion.
“Meanwhile, the operation continues in Onitsha Head Bridge until next week, when a similar process of opening the shops to non-violative shop owners and charging the violative ones accordingly will commence.”
She assured that NAFDAC would complete its operation by the end of next week but stressed that the market reopening would be “on our own conditions.”
