In a renewed crackdown on counterfeit and dangerous pharmaceuticals, the leadership of Ogbo-ogwu Drug Market, Bridge Head, Onitsha, Anambra State, has handed over fake and expired drugs valued at over N265 million to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The consignment, which includes expired, banned, fake and substandard medicines, was formally transferred to NAFDAC on Wednesday as part of an ongoing Internal cleansing exercise aimed at protecting public health and restoring confidence in Nigeria’s largest drug distribution hub.

Chairman of the market, Mr Chukwuleta Ndubuisi, said the seized drugs were confiscated at different times, noting that some were impounded last year, while others were recovered following recent enforcement actions and raids by NAFDAC within the market.

According to him, the exercise is a sustained campaign rather than a one-off operation, stressing that the market leadership remains resolute in flushing out all forms of unwholesome pharmaceutical products.

“We are here to hand over these seized products to NAFDAC. Before you are drugs worth about N265 million, including unwholesome, expired, banned, fake and substandard items,” Ndubuisi said.

He explained that the market had institutionalised periodic internal monitoring long before he assumed office, tracing the roots of the initiative to reforms introduced during the era of the late former NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Dora Akunyili.

“We cannot allow people to sell products that will kill our people. That is why we have placed a task force at strategic points to monitor and intercept counterfeit drug dealers,” he added.

Ndubuisi acknowledged a noticeable reduction in counterfeit drug activities within the market, but warned that smugglers continue to exploit supply routes outside the market to introduce fake medicines.

While commending NAFDAC for its efforts, he called for stiffer penalties and broader enforcement measures to dismantle the networks behind fake drug distribution nationwide.

In a startling revelation, the market chairman alleged that vested interests behind the illicit trade have issued threats against his life and repeatedly attempted to destabilise the market leadership.

“Those involved in fake drugs have threatened my life and fought my executive, including attempts to remove us so they can operate freely. They have gone to the media to malign us, but none of that will make me compromise,” he said.

He urged traders dealing in fake medicines to abandon the practice and embrace legitimate business, warning that counterfeit drugs often end up harming innocent victims, including relatives of those who sell them.

“Crime doesn’t pay. There is no shortcut in life. You don’t even know who will take the fake drugs you are selling—it could be your own relations,” he cautioned.

Reacting, the Anambra State Coordinator of NAFDAC, Pharm. Louis Madubuattah, confirmed that the agency received over 400 cartons of mostly expired and unregistered pharmaceutical products.

He disclosed that the items would be secured in the agency’s warehouse pending their eventual destruction in line with regulatory procedures.

“This is standard practice. When pharmaceutical products expire, the law requires that they be handed over to NAFDAC for destruction,” Madubuattah said.

He added that the ’gency has intensified sensitisation campaigns to discourage the revalidation and circulation of expired drugs, describing the proactive role of the Ogbo-ogwu market leadership as a positive development.

“We are glad the market leadership has put mechanisms in place to mop up unwholesome products. The fact that they are handing these drugs over to themselves shows progress and commitment to public safety,” he noted.

The latest handover underscores a growing collaboration between market authorities and regulators in the fight against counterfeit drugs, as concerns persist over the deadly consequences of fake medicines on public health in Nigeria. (Daily Independent)