The federal government has started the nationwide destruction of over 250 containers of expired pharmaceutical products intercepted by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the nation’s seaports.
LEADERSHIP reports that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) had set up a committee for the identification, isolation, evacuation and destruction of illegally imported pharmaceuticals in the country.
The committee comprised the Nigerian Army, Navy, Customs, National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Speaking on the destruction of the fake drugs, the chairman of the committee, Assistant Comptroller General of Customs, Timi Bomodi, said the destruction of the contraband will be done simultaneously across the country.
ACG Bomodi said the next phase of destruction of the expired drugs after Lagos is Port Harcourt, Calabar and Kano.
“This exercise cuts across the Federation. We’re starting here in Lagos, specifically with about 88 containers. We’ll also be going to Port Harcourt where we have over 20 containers, Calabar, then Kano. So it cuts across the whole country.
“It’s an exercise that is very dear to the hearts of the National Security Adviser, particularly with regards to the public well-being and welfare. When you add the security implications, then that holds it very dear to his mind. I’m sure you’ve seen everybody here because this is a multi-agency approach that is now being deployed to effectively tackle this menace of importation of some of these substances or items that are not approved by designated agencies,” he stated.
Bomodi, who said the committee destroyed contraband worth several billions of naira earlier, disclosed that the expired pharmaceuticals posed a very serious challenge to the health and well-being of Nigerians.
When asked about the street value of the products, he responded thus: “Well, it’s a lot. I don’t have the Duty Paid Value (DPV), but it’s a lot because we are talking about hundreds of 40-foot containers, spread across the country and others that were not packaged in containers.
“So, it’s a lot, we are talking of billions, hundreds of billions of Naira. So, such an act occurs daily, or should I say yearly, and the Nigerian Customs Service seems to always destroy this product. The drugs are fake, not registered, and they pose a very serious challenge to the health and well-being of Nigerians.
“And I said also, you know, the issue of security, because some of these pharmaceuticals have been identified to be used by elements in society that are causing so much trouble. We’re talking about cases of kidnapping and crime and all kinds of crimes.”
