By Kamil Opeyemi
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Friday in Abuja raided hawkers of unwholesome drugs at the Nyanya/Mararaba axis of Abuja.
Addressing newsmen after the exercise, the team leader of the operation, Mr Umar Suleiman, said the operation followed an earlier surveillance carried out by officers of the enforcement unit of the agency.
Suleiman, who is an Assistant Chief Regulatory Officer, Federal Task Force, Investigation and Enforcement, NAFDAC, said that the operation was also to confirm if Baban Aisha Herbal product were still in the market.
The agency had some few weeks ago raided Baban Aisha production factory along Abuja/Kaduna road for selling unregistered herbal products.
NAFDAC had alleged that Baban Aisha had only registered some of his herbal medicine, using the privilege of the registered ones to sell others which were yet to be registered.
The agency also raided and sealed Al-Nassar Islamic Herbal medicine store, No. 151 Minna Road, Suleja, Niger State.
Meanwhile, Suleiman said that those doing advert on Baban Aisha products were not permitted for now.
He said that the agency was able to nab five of the hawkers of the unwholesome drugs, where one of them escaped.
“Most of the drugs we seized in the Suleja shop are sex enhancers (Manpower), sex enhancers drug like Night Rocket, Black diamond, double rocket, AK-47 and many more.
“We also seized other herbal preparation medicine such like transformer, maibulala, maibusher.
“At that particular shop alone in Suleja, drug found there worth N35 million, and for the hawkers, we have an estimate of N10 million.
“Some of the drugs in the Suleja shop are even not herbal, with ponographic pictures which are not approved by NAFDAC.
You can see that he is selling them in bulk, it’s like the owner of the shop is a dealer.
“We believe that if we tackle the dealer, retailers will not have access to buy from the source, this is why we do our traceability to get the source, we have been able to discover the main supplier in Suleja now,” he said.
Suleiman said that NAFDAC is planning to extend its search operations to other regulated products like food, cosmetics, medical devices, detergent, package water and chemicals.
According to him, the agency is still working on drug products because of the effect on the body, since people used it daily.
He said the agency would soon commence its search mission on pharmaceutical stores, and their warehouses all in the aim of ridding the country of counterfeit and fake drugs.
Suleiman commended NAFDAC Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, for her support to the investigation and enforcement unit of the agency, saying that such support had strengthened its operation.
Embugushiki Godiya, Desk Officer, Investigation and Enforcement, Federal Task Force, NAFDAC, commended the media for support to the unit, adding that the media’s role had projected the activities of the unit.
He said that the raid would send a signal to other people out there that are planning to sell the same unwholesome medicines.
“Today’s operation is a very successful one for us, we are using this medium to call on all Nigerians to stop patronising hawkers of drug medicine.
“If Nigerians stop patronising these people, there will be nothing for them.
“We want to thank the media because with them, our enforcement activities have been heightened in the recent time,” he stressed.