In a bold move to curb the proliferation of fake and unregistered medicines, the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) raided the popular Ekumi Plaza in Ariaria International Market, Aba, uncovering contraband worth millions of naira. This operation is part of NAFDAC’s larger goal to reduce substandard and falsified medicines to 5% or less by 2025, a significant drop from the current 10% global prevalence.
NAFDAC’s efforts to sanitize the market come after a previous raid on Eziukwu/Cemetery Market in Aba, where fake and adulterated beverages worth millions were confiscated. Despite the EKUMI Plaza Patent Medicine Dealers Association’s (EPPMDA) efforts to hand over expired and fake medicines worth ₦50 million to NAFDAC for destruction, some traders continued to engage in illicit activities, posing a danger to the public.
The recent raid was carried out in collaboration with sister agencies, leveraging the sit-at-home compliance by Aba residents. Pharmacist Omoyeni Babatunde, deputy director in-charge of investigation and enforcement, described the discovery as “mind-boggling” and emphasized that the scope of their assignment was to search for all unregistered NAFDAC products in the market.
Some of the seized products were even banned during the late Dora Akunyili’s regime as NAFDAC DG. The team plans to raid over 1,000 shops in the market, with the operation expected to continue throughout the week. Although no arrests were made, over 20 shops were sealed. Some shop owners acknowledged that a few members were involved in the sale of unregistered medicines, regretting the negative impact on the entire market.
