By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Foremost rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has called on Anambra Government and the state Assembly to create a judicial Commission of Enquiry for urgent public hearing on the issue concerning Onitsha Drug Market and NAFDAC

It said the Commission will also hear voices of genuine drug traders trading in the market to ascertain losses incurred during the alleged looting of their shops, how they were broken into in their absence, with billions of naira worth of genuine drugs confiscated and carted away

A statement by the Board Chairman of the group, Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chinwe Umeche Esquire and others said the call is aimed at unmasking ?operational illegalities of NAFDAC and its deployed soldiers and police personnel, prevent looming crisis and imminent loss of lives and properties in the market.?

The group noted that the Commission will help find a short-term political solution through an all-inclusive public hearing to re-open the market

While calling for the removal of Onitsha 302 Army Cantonment Commandant, Col Adamu Mohammad, Intersociety said:

?The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) is strongly calling for urgent legislative Public Hearing and Judicial Commission of Enquiry to evidently ascertain various ?outside-the-law? roles played by deployed field operatives of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and its deployed security agents particularly soldiers of the Nigerian Army under Onitsha 302 Cantonment and operatives of the Nigeria Police Force under Anambra State Police Command and possibly Zone 13 of the Force; inclusive of their field and barracks commanders.

?The two Public Hearings under demand are expected to frontally and comprehensively address five key disturbing issues including: hearing the voices of genuine drug traders and ascertain losses incurred during the looting of their shops.

?Hear how their shops were broken into in their absence and billions of naira worth of genuine drugs confiscated and carted away,

?Unmask operational illegalities of NAFDAC and its deployed soldiers and police personnel.

?Prevent looming crisis and imminent loss of lives and properties in the market. Find short-term political solution through all-inclusive legislative public hearing to re-open the Market.?

Intersociety described the recent visit by Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo and Speaker Somtochukwu Udeze on February 22, 2025) and legislative (resolution of February 24, 2025 as not good enough, saying: ?As democratic leaders of the State, Gov Soludo and Speaker Udeze must further be made to know that they owe the traders of the Onitsha Drug Market a political and moral duty to protect them and their legitimate business interests.

?In addition to coming to their aid in this type of critical and life-threatening situation, the two democratic leaders also have a duty to find short-term and long-term solutions to the Onitsha Drug Market-NAFDAC impasse.

?Such short-term measures include prevailing on NAFDAC to re-open the Market and render public account of its operations in the Market while the long-term solutions must include working out favorable terms and conditions under which traders of the Market can legitimately engage in the trade under favorable trading environment including building a new ultra-modern international drug market of the World Health Organization specification.

?NAFDAC?s blanket imposition of N500,000 on every sealed shop including boutique and food vendors? shops in the Market as ?Poor Storage Fee? is a clear case of brazen regulatory extortion and persecution.?

The group also called on the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force including the NPF High Command and the Police Service Commission and the authorities of the Nigerian Army under the current Chief of Army Staff to carry out thorough investigations into roles played by their deployed officers and personnel during their raid on the Onitsha Drug Market.

It insisted that such investigations must include thorough examination of their bank accounts using their NIN and BVN for a period of six months, starting from February 9, 2025 to end of August 2025.

Intersociety added: ?The leadership of the Onitsha 302 Army Cantonment under Col Adamu Muhammad must thoroughly be investigated over several advocacy indictments by human rights and media advocates concerning despicable roles played by the deployed soldiers under his watch as captured in recent statements by various human rights groups during the Onitsha Drug Market NAFDAC operations.

?We also call for immediate removal of Col Adamu Muhammad as Onitsha Army Cantonment Commandant and his transfer out of the South-East with immediate effect.

?Going by shocking Eyewitnesses? accounts over despicable roles played by soldiers during the Onitsha Drug Market operations, Col Adamu Muhammad is unfit to continue as ?Cantonment Commandant of the Onitsha Army Barracks? as he and deployed soldiers under his watch never represented the Nigerian Army secularly and neutrally during the operations.

?Emerging facts have further shown that the NAFDAC blanket closure of Onitsha Drug Market has taken incalculable toll on traders and members of their nuclear and extended families as well as members of the public at large.

?The Market?s closure has also entered its 47th day today being Wednesday, March 26, 2025, owing to stringent and glaringly extortionist terms and conditions imposed on traders as conditions for re-opening of the market.

?It is also shocking that NAFDAC has been transformed from ?public food and drug security regulatory and sanitizing agency of the Federation to revenue generation or extortionist agency of the Federation?; brought about by the Agency?s decision to impose sundry extortionist fees on traders of Onitsha Drug Market.

?The estimated 12,000 traders of the Market including their apprentices and salesgirls estimated at 5,000 and their market stalls numbering about 5,000 have gone through militarization and trauma from February 9 to March 9, 2025, after which their Market remained under lock and key till date; losing over 25 (40ft) containers of drugs estimated at over N800b; seized, confiscated, carted away and publicly unaccounted for till date.

?Already recorded are scores of untimely deaths involving traders of the Market and thousands of untimely deaths expected from members of the public affected by scarcity and high cost of life saving and general health drugs.?

While saying that the ?lmposed stringent and extortionist conditions totally unacceptable?, Intersociety said that after careful monitor of events, it followed and studied stringent extortionist conditions imposed by NAFDAC on traders of the Onitsha Drug Market as ?terms and conditions for re-opening of the Market?.

?The Intersociety sees them as totally unacceptable and strongly condemnable. Such unilateral and extortionist conditions also amounted to additional collective punishment and ethnic persecution. NAFDAC had recently summoned the leaders of the Market to its Enugu and Onitsha Offices where they were given harsh conditions such as mandatory payment of ?poor storage fee of N500,000 per shop? (into about 5,000 lock-up shops in the Market including those running boutiques, food vendors and other non-drug trading outfits in the Market).

?As if that was not enough, the Agency went further and imposed ?N5m fee to be paid by every importer of unregistered multinational drugs/per brand?, ?N1.25m for every importer of loose pack (imported drugs with separated packs and tablets or capsules)/per brand? and ?N200,000 for every retailer of unregistered multinational drugs/per brand?.

?Each of the traders in the Market was ordered to collect and download a formatted or template form from their line and central leaders, sign undertaking thereto, attach his or her passport photograph, his or her name and shop number and its line location, fill the blank spaces with his or her signature attached; after which he or she will return with the form at Onitsha NAFDAC office and be physically available for interrogation and examination and in the end be informed of how to make the mandatory payment of ?N500,000 Poor Storage Fee? and sundry others depending on the category he or she is found to have fallen under or categorized. NAFDAC further ordered and insisted that the imposed stringent conditions must be treated on individual basis or on ?first-come-first serve?.

?It is our further information that following strong agitations by traders, the NAFDAC through its South-East Zonal office in Enugu, ?reviewed the conditions? by reducing the ?N5m unregistered multinational drug importation fee? to ?N500,000-N200,000 per importer/per brand and insisted and made the payment of ?N500,000 Poor Storage Fee per Market Stall? non-negotiable.

?The Agency also ruled out general or simultaneous re-opening of the Market, insisting on individual market stall re-opening method; a method that may last for several months, if not one year and above.

?The above is more so when many of the remaining drugs in the Market are at high risk of expiration and dangerous for human consumption having been kept out of circulation and transactional exchanges for over 47 days or since February 9, 2025. It was a result of the above that traders of the Market in their hundreds protested peacefully on Tuesday, March 26, 2025, along some major streets in Onitsha during which they registered their displeasure at conducts of NAFDAC and vehemently opposed the stringent conditions imposed by the Agency.

Narrating how Eberechukwu Okoye Lost N15m Clothes, Shoes to NAFDAC-deployed Looters, the group said,

?Ms. Sophia Eberechukwu Okoye from Ezinifite-Aguata in Anambra State is one of the victims of NAFDAC-deployed looters who wreaked havoc during the forceful closure and takeover of the Onitsha Drug Market by NAFADAC and its secured and deployed security agents drawn from the Army and the Nigeria Police Force.

?The hardworking young lady had in the last quarter of 2024 opened a boutique at IBESON Line between Plumbing Materials and Ogbogwu Market. Her boutique shop stretches back and forth and is one of dozens of other shops including food vendors? shops and non-drug trading others broken into, ransacked and massively looted by suspected Hausa-Fulani component of soldiers of the Nigerian Army deployed by NAFDAC in the Market.

?The boutique shop, alongside others, was strongly suspected to have been looted and emptied during the NAFDAC and soldiers? siege and control of the Market; and was discovered 24hours after NAFDAC withdrew its deployed soldiers on Friday, March 7, 2025.

?At the end of the looting exercise, clothes including trousers, kickers, faze caps, stockings, men?s and women?s shoes and others valued at over N15m was lost to the looters. The Ms. Ebere Okoye?s Boutique shop was also ransacked and turned upside down after having been looted. Evidence on the ground including video clips and CCTV footages also strongly linked NAFDAC to the dastardly act.

?For instance, there was clear evidence of NAFDAC break-in and ransacking of the shop by which later put the frontage of the shop under seal with NAFDAC insignia conspicuously pasted at the main entrance of the shop till date.

?The documentary of the looted items included: 56 Pieces of Turkey wears at N38,000 each, 32 Pieces of quality China Jeans at N27, 000 each, 16 Pieces of Up-and-Down Trousers at N45,000, 12 Pieces of Up-and-Down Short Knickers at N36,000, 20 Pieces of Plain Trousers and Chinos at N35,000, 32 Pieces of Turkey Shirts at N36,000 each. Others are: 17 Pieces of quality Belts at N18,000, 12 Pieces of London Packet Pants at N12,000, 53 Pieces of quality China Polos at N18,000, 18 Pieces of Turkey Polos at N25,000, 23 Pieces of quality Singlets at N12,000, 24 Pieces of quality Caps at N12,000, 18 Pieces of Italian Sandals at N75,000, 11 Pieces of quality China Slippers at N42,000, 53 Pieces of Boxers at N17,000, 22 Pieces of Stock Short Jeans at N25,000, 17 Pieces of quality Stock Short Jeans at N30,000, 13 Pieces of quality Knickers at N18,000, 18 Pieces of Stock Vintage Shirts at N20,000, 13 Pieces of Joggers at N26,000 and 13 Pieces of Turkey Vintage at N30,000, among other items; all valued at over N15m.?

Intersociety further condemned the stringent extortionist conditions imposed by NAFDAC on Onitsha drug traders

Update news