By Mark Mayah
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has reported a social media influencer to the relevant security agencies for possible prosecution over his allegation that staff of NAFDAC extorted traders at the Onitsha Bridge Head Market.
NAFDAC, in a statement issued by its Director General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye and made available to Journalists, said the alleged incitement may constitute a breach of the Cybercrime Act.
Adeoye said, officials of NAFDAC recently carried out enforcement actions on several markets at Onitsha and Lagos, during which banned, expired, falsified, substandard narcotic medicines worth more than a trillion Naira were removed and subsequently destroyed.
But the social media influencer, recently said in a trending video that NAFDAC staff were asking the traders for sums of up to N700,000 to have their shops reopened and seized goods returned.
Adeyeye, in her statement disputed this and urged Nigerians to work with the agency to rid the country of fake drugs merchants. The statement reads:
REJOINDER: INCITING STATEMENT BY A SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER AGAINST THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA.
The attention of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has been drawn to a misleading information as contained in videos that are trending on the social media of the incitement of traders of Onitsha Bridge Head Market by one social media influencer.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) therefore, wishes to alert the public and security agencies on the incitement, which may constitute a breach of the Cybercrime Act.
The public will recall the recent enforcement operation in three Open Drug Markets (Idumota, Aba and Onitsha) in the country where banned, expired, falsified, substandard narcotic medicines worth more than a trillion Naira were removed and subsequently destroyed.
Between 9th February and 27th March 2025, NAFDAC conducted a raid operation to remove unregistered, expired, banned, diverted donation drugs, substandard, falsified, and illicit narcotics and controlled substances from the three major Open Drug Markets (ODM) in the country. All the warehouses, shops and parking stores in the three Open Drug Markets did not meet the minimum requirements of Good Storage and Distribution Practices.
More importantly, there was no proof of registration of these Open Drug Market premises by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) – a clear contravention/violation of the pertinent extant law of the federation.
NAFDAC as a regulatory agency created by an Act of the Federal Government has the mandate to, among other things, regulate and control the importation, exportation, manufacture, advertisement, distribution, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, packaged water and chemicals (referred to as NAFDAC Regulatory Products).
As part of the mandate, NAFDAC routinely carries out inspection of production, distribution and sales outlets of regulated products, and post approval surveillance of regulated products to ensure conformity with standards of approvals. The Agency on a routine basis also visits sales and distribution outlets to address intelligence, petitions and complaints received on issues that have to do with its mandate.
The Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods ACT C34 prohibits the sales of drugs in certain places or premises, which includes any market, kiosk, motor park, road-side stall or in any bus, ferry or any other means of transportation.
Due to the intervention of the respective state governments, the traders were given a moratorium to relocate to a conducive Coordinated Warehouse Centre where their activities will be well monitored and controlled while being held accountable for previous infractions to serve as a deterrence in accordance with gazetted regulations.
The market was reopened on the 9th of March 2025 and over 2500 traders with 3500 shops who have come forward for necessary regulatory procedure have resumed their normal activity in Ogbogwu market.
It is pertinent to note that the remaining few shops whose owners have refused to come forward for identification are the ones with outrightly banned narcotics according to our database. The cartel, along with their co-conspirators, are the ones creating incitements to divert attention from the real issues to escape the long arm of the law for the heinous crimes being committed against humanity.
All law-abiding citizens are enjoined to go about their legitimate businesses while the merchants of death who are responsible fuelling insecurity and peddling of fake medicines in Nigeria will be fished out and dealt with in accordance with the law.
In the meantime, what this perpetrator has done is that he has openly told his audience to defy the regulatory processes of NAFDAC following the enforcement operation carried out under the Office of the National Security Adviser. The Agency will allow the law enforcement agencies determine whether he is in violation of any laws, particularly with regards to the making of videos that may be considered inciteful.
NAFDAC will continue to ensure that all medical products – medicines, vaccines, medical devices and others being used in Nigeria are of good quality, safe, and efficacious. We will continue to provide assurances that these commodities are well monitored to avoid the deaths of pregnant women, children, and to improve the quality of life and life expectancy of the citizenry, while reducing the incidence of untimely deaths of adults living with chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes.
