National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed counterfeit medicines and unwholesome food products worth over N1.36 billion in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The destruction, which took place at the Kuje dumpsite was carried out by NAFDAC in collaboration with the men of the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NCDC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
Speaking at the destruction site, yesterday, in Abuja, the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, noted that some of the items destroyed included expired and unwholesome products voluntarily submitted for destruction by NGOs and the Association of Community Pharmacy of Nigeria (ACPN), among others.
She said drugs, including psychoactive and controlled substances, antibiotics, antihypertensives, antimalarials, herbal snuff, and herbal remedies were seized from hawkers, while food products, such as cookies, vegetable oil, non-alcoholic beverages, and other items with labelling only in foreign languages, lacking English translations, were seized from supermarkets.
Adeyeye, who was represented by a Director in the Director General’s office, Festus Ukaduke, observed that other items included cosmetics such as creams, lotions, pomades, and skin-lightening products confiscated from spas and beauty centres and chemicals like Fake IZAL, JIK, and medical devices seized during our operations in the FCT and surrounding areas, alongside items handed over by compliant companies and organisations.
MEANWHILE, the Nigeria Customs Service, yesterday, began nationwide destruction of over 100 containers of illegally imported pharmaceuticals.
The exercise started with the incineration of five 40-foot containers of seized pharmaceuticals at Alaro Dumpsite in Epe, Lagos State.
Speaking during the event, the Assistant Comptroller General of Customs in charge of Investigation and Enforcement, Mr Timi Bomodi, disclosed that Lagos alone had 88 containers slated for destruction, with the operation set to proceed to Port Harcourt, where 20 containers await disposal.
“This exercise cuts across the Federation. We are starting here in Lagos, specifically with about 88 containers. We will also be going to Port Harcourt, where we have over 20 containers. Then we will be going to Calabar, and after that, Kano, which involves purely pharmaceutical containers. So, it’s not just a one-day exercise,” Bomodi explained.
Bomodi, who also chairs a committee set up by the National Security Adviser to oversee the identification, isolation, evacuation and destruction of illegally imported pharmaceuticals, emphasised the critical importance of the operation to public health and national security.
According to him, a multi-agency approach is being deployed to tackle the menace of unapproved pharmaceutical imports effectively.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER
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