National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it destroyed goods worth N5 billion in five months.
Gatekeepers News reports that NAFDAC says it destroyed N5 billion worth of counterfeit drugs, unwholesome goods, and cosmetics in five months.
The agency’s Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, made this known in a statement which was made available to journalists on Sunday.
The statement was titled “NAFDAC urges judiciary to apply stiffer penalty against drug counterfeiters, unwholesome process of good and cosmetics, wants NASS to pass counterfeit medical product bill to strengthen agency’s war against offenders, agency destroys spurious products worth N5bn in five months.”
NAFDAC’s Director General, Mojisola Adeyeye, has, therefore, proposed stiffer penalties against drug counterfeiters.
NAFDAC Boss also urged members of the National Assembly to pass the Counterfeit Medical Products Bill that will reinforce the NAFDAC’s fight against counterfeiting in Nigeria.
The statement read, “In its renewed efforts to safeguard the health of Nigerians, the agency has resolved to go after those who engage in the circulation of counterfeited and expired medicines, cosmetics, and spurious food products in the country until they are apprehended and made to face the wrath of the law.
“The agency would not rest on its oars until merchants of death desist from the nefarious activities following the destruction of seized unwholesome products worth over N5b in five months.
“The agency destroyed unwholesome medicines, expired processed food items and cosmetics worth N1,429,580,683.00 in Awka, the capital city of Anambra State, in March for South-South and South-East operations.
“In the same month, dangerous products worth N613,300,290.00 were destroyed in Kano while the agency moved to Gombe in May to destroy seized counterfeited and expired medicines, and food items worth N515,732.587 mopped up in the North-East by the Investigation and Enforcement officials of the Agency led by Kingsley Ejiofor.
“Fake and expired medicines and food products worth N2,482,600,290 seized in the South-West were destroyed in Sagamu, Ogun State last week.”
Adeyeye assured Nigerians that the agency would stop at nothing to arrest anyone who engages in the illicit business of endangering the lives of undiscerning consumers who patronise them.
She, therefore, warned that there would be no hiding place for the merchants of death who she said derive joy in the unpatriotic act of circulating expired, falsified drugs and food products, putting the health of millions of Nigerians at risk
