‘We Are Protecting Lives, Not Disturbing Trade’, NAFDAC Boss Defends Market Raids

The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has strongly defended the agency’s recent actions to shut down markets involved in the sale of counterfeit drugs, stressing that the move is aimed at ensuring public safety and not disrupting businesses.

“We are not disturbing trade, we are protecting lives,” Adeyeye stated, explaining that the closure of markets was in response to the discovery of large quantities of prohibited and counterfeit drugs hidden within plumbing material shops at the Onitsha Bridgehead Drug Market in Anambra State.

The NAFDAC boss credited the successful operation to the cooperation with security agencies, particularly the National Security Adviser (NSA), emphasizing the importance of collaboration in achieving the enforcement. “We couldn’t have done it ourselves without the National Security Adviser,” she added.

Adeyeye highlighted the severe security risks posed by counterfeit drugs, citing a BBC documentary that exposed the extent of drug abuse in Africa. “What BBC said will shock you—young men that have been rendered useless. So what NAFDAC is doing is what NAFDAC is supposed to do: safeguarding. There is no politics in what we are doing,” she asserted.

She also pointed out that many of the shops involved in the illicit trade were not registered with the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), which regulates pharmaceutical facilities and staff. “Most of the shops are not registered by PCN. PCN registers sites and the people working at the site, so the rules have been broken right from the beginning,” Adeyeye explained.

Displaying one of the seized products, she warned about the dangers of illegal narcotics, particularly tramadol, stressing its destructive impact on the health of users. “This is tramadol 225. This will fry the brain of anybody. This will destroy the future of our country, our youth, our future,” she said.

Earlier, NAFDAC officials reported the seizure of two trailer loads of unregistered narcotics, banned tramadol, and counterfeit drugs, which were concealed within non-drug sections of the market. The agency maintains that its enforcement actions are vital to protect public health and national security.