NAFDAC destroys counterfeit drugs worth N50 million in Kaduna

From Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) yesterday destroyed counterfeit drugs worth 50 million Naira in Kaduna state.

According to the agency, the drugs were seized in Sokoto and Kaduna states from mostly roadside vendors, chemists and supermarkets within the two states.

Speaking at the venue in Kaduna, NAFDAC’s Director-General, Mr. Paul Orhii said such counterfeit drugs mostly emanated from China and India.

He said the drugs destroyed are without NAFDAC numbers and were not certified by the agencies making them too dangerous for people to either use or consumed.

“Our effort is to get rid of counterfeit drugs from Nigeria because they are poisonous. We destroyed them to take them off our streets and to safeguard the lives of our people.

“We need the support of all the stakeholders in the fight against counterfeit drugs in this country. We need to reduce the problem to zero level,” he said.

According to the DG, some international countries refused to accept the fact the they have problems of counterfeit drugs, but said that Nigeria identified the problem and is dealing with it.

The Director-General spoke through the agency’s Director, Special Duties, Abubakar Jimoh at the occasion.

He explained further that the agency decided to destroy the fake drugs because of its commitment to zero-tolerance to counterfeit drugs in Nigeria.

Earlier, in his remarks, NAFDAC State Coordinator, Mr. Kenneth Azikwe called on Nigerians to stop patronizing roadside drugs vendors, describing them as merchants of death.

He said majority of such roadside drugs vendors are people with no medical knowledge, adding that, “The activities of such people are harmful to Nigerians; which is why we always arrest them. So, we are appealing to Nigerians to support us to get rid of such people in our society”.

He urged people to be careful of the drugs or soft drinks they make use of on a daily basis, urging people to always take time to check the integrity of such items before consuming.