The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) destroyed fake and expired goods worth over N500 million in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, the director-general of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, stated that some of the goods were also voluntarily submitted to the agency.
She revealed that the routine exercise was done to prevent their re-introduction to the supply chain and stated that some of the products were made up of psychoactive and controlled substances like antibiotics, antihypertensive, antimalarials, herbal snuff and herbal remedies, and drugs confiscated from drug hawkers.
She also listed the food products such as Spaghetti, vegetable oil, and non-alcoholic beverages, including one by 40ft container of unregistered Faurecia instant-powdered milk handed over to the agency by the Nigeria Customs Service.
Others were cosmetics such as creams, lotion, and pomade, including skin-lightening creams seized from Spa and beauty centers, chemicals such as fake insecticides, and medical devices.
“I have said on several platforms that drug counterfeiting is an act of economic sabotage, and it also represents a serious threat to public health, and NAFDAC, under my watch, has been repositioned to fight this menace.
“The agency has adopted a proactive approach by engaging political, traditional, faith leaders, journalists, and other Nigerians to sensitize their wards on the dangers of dealing with substandard and falsified medicine.
“I wish to use this medium to urge all and sundry to be on the lookout for spurious and counterfeit medicines, unwholesome foods, and other regulated products and report the same to NAFDAC,” she said.
Disclosing the estimated street value of the products destroyed was N535,000,657, she said the most alarming was that the products were expired and had been handed over voluntarily by compliant companies, non-governmental organizations, and the Association of Community Pharmacy of Nigeria (ACPN).
