Igboblog: Tension As NAFDAC Officials, Policemen Escape Lynching In Onitsha Market
There was tension yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra after officials of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and policemen escaped getting lynched during an enforcement exercise, Igbere TV reports.
Igbere TV reports that the incident happened at Head Bridge Drug Market, Onitsha, to be precise.
NAFDAC made this known in a statement by its Director-General, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, that the combined team of officials and policemen had visited the market sequel to credible intelligence obtained from concerned members of the public.
According to the agency, it had received information regarding the connivance of drug counterfeiters from the market and the executive members of the Plumbing Material Market Association Onitsha over the diversion, concealment, and storage of substandard and falsified medical products at the plumbing material market.
However, an attempt to apprehend those found culpable as well as ensure the seizure of the items led to NAFDAC officials getting stoned.
The statement reads,
“Officials of NAFDAC visited the offending warehouse for an immediate evacuation of the substandard and counterfeit products and packaging materials.
“The contingent of NAFDAC officials and police officers were attacked and pelted with stones, bottles, packaged water and plumbing items by a mob under the watch of the executive members of the Plumbing Material Market Association Head Bridge Onitsha.
“However, the NAFDAC team were able to evacuate a limited quantity of the counterfeit Anti-malaria, Antibiotics, Sildenafil Citrate, including Tetanus Toxoid stored in a warehouse with a temperature of over 40oC.”
The agency, which is charged with the mandate of safeguarding the health of Nigerians, noted that storing cold-chain drugs such as vaccines or injections that are supposed to be stored at below 4oC at a temperature as high as 40oC would have damaged the drug and subjected the person that would use it to danger that could result in death.
“Counterfeiting of drugs subjects the population to treatment failure and early death.
“Members of the families of the counterfeiters are included in the population, that is, no one is exempted from the consequences of substandard, falsified and counterfeited medicines. Therefore, protect your family from dangers of falsified medicines by reporting any suspicion of fake medicines to 08001NAFDAC or to the nearest NAFDAC office to you.”
People have asked why NAFDAC shut the entire Bridge Head Market? They ask why the agency closed shops that are not involved in selling drugs and why they refused to allow anyone into the market. They also ask why soldiers are involved in the operation.
In 2019 NAFDAC got a tip off that illegal drugs were being wharehoused and sold at the plumbing materials section of the market. They went to the market with policemen to search the specific shops that were suspected of being used to store illegal drugs (they didn't close the market, they went to inspect the specific shops).
The NAFDAC officials and policemen were attacked and mobbed by traders. They had to retreat without carrying out their mission.
However, NAFDAC continued to receive information that illegal drugs were being sold in various parts of the market.
The National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, gave NAFDAC security cover and troops cordoned off the market to ensure that nobody could mob or attack the NAFDAC officials. NAFDAC officials and policemen went into the market and in the presence of the chairman of the plumbing materials section, they found that shops in that section were being used as wharehouses to store illegal drugs.
NAFDAC is currently searching other parts of the market and they have announced that they will allow traders to come into the market in batches, open their shops for NAFDAC to search and then the traders will be allowed back in if nothing illegal is found in the shop.
Attack On NAFDAC Officers At Plumbing Material Market At Head Bridge Onitsha
Sequel to credible intelligence obtained from concerned members of the public regarding the connivance of drug counterfeiters from the Head Bridge Drug Market Onitsha and the Executive members of the Plumbing Material Market Association Onitsha in the diversion, concealment and storage of substandard and falsified medical products at the plumbing material market; on Friday, 12th July 2019 the officials of NAFDAC visited the offending warehouse for immediate evacuation of the substandard and counterfeit products and packaging materials.
The Contingent of NAFDAC officials and Police officers were attacked and pelted with stones, bottles, packaged water and plumbing items by a mob under the watch of the executive members of the Plumbing Material Market Association Head Bridge Onitsha.
However, the NAFDAC team were able to evacuate limited quantity of the counterfeit Anti-malarial, Antibiotics, Sildenafil Citrate, including Tetanus Toxoid stored in a warehouse with temperature of over 40oC.
NAFDAC’s mandate is to safeguard the health of Nigerians. Storing cold chain drugs such as vaccines or injections that are supposed to be stored at below 4oC at a temperature as high as 40oC would have damaged the drug and subject the person that will receive it to danger that could result in death.
Similarly, other drugs stored at this high temperature will compromise the health of the population and result in fatalities. Counterfeiting of drugs subjects the population to treatment failure and early death. Members of the families of the counterfeiters are included in the population, that is, no one is exempted from the consequences of substandard, falsified and counterfeited medicines. Therefore, protect your family from dangers of falsified medicines by reporting any suspicion of fake medicines to 0800-1NAFDAC (0800 162 3322) or to the nearest NAFDAC office to you.
NAFDAC hereby warns that no stone will be left unturned in dismantling the operations and networks of counterfeiters of drugs as well as the traders whether in the Plumbing Material Market or anywhere who aid and abet the storage, concealment and distribution of substandard and falsified medical products.
NAFDAC ………safeguarding the health of the Nation!!!
India’s Opioid Kings: Pharmaceutical Firm Behind West Africa’s Drug Crisis Unmasked
By Royal Ibeh
A shocking BBC Eye Investigation has uncovered how an Indian pharmaceutical company, Aveo Pharmaceuticals, was illegally manufacturing and exporting highly addictive opioids to West Africa, fueling a growing public health crisis.
The Mumbai-based company produced unlicensed pills containing a dangerous combination of tapentadol, a potent opioid, and carisoprodol, a banned muscle relaxant. These drugs, marketed under various brand names, were being widely sold on the streets of Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire, despite being illegal in these countries.
A BBC undercover operative, posing as a Nigerian businessman, infiltrated Aveo’s factory and secretly filmed a company director, Vinod Sharma, openly promoting the dangerous pills.
In the footage published by the BBC, Sharma acknowledged the harmful effects of the drugs but dismisses concerns, saying, “This is very harmful for their health—but nowadays, this is business.”
The devastating impact of the opioids is evident in West Africa. In Tamale, Ghana, an increasing number of young people are addicted to the drugs, prompting local chief Alhassan Maham to form a volunteer task force to seize and destroy illicit pills.
In Nigeria, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), warned that opioids are “devastating our youths, our families, and every community in Nigeria.”
According to BBC World Service/BBC Eye report, “Indian law prohibits the manufacture and export of unlicensed drugs unless they meet the importing country’s regulations, however, Aveo has been shipping these opioids to Ghana, violating Indian and international drug laws. The Indian drug regulator, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), stated that the government was committed to preventing illegal pharmaceutical exports and has pledged to take immediate action against any companies involved in malpractice.”
Officials from Nigeria’s drug enforcement agencies, including NAFDAC and the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), confirmed that efforts were underway to crack down on illegal opioid distribution network. Recent raids in Lagos State and other cities have led to multiple arrests and the seizure of billions of naira worth of illicit drugs.
Public health advocates are calling for stronger diplomatic pressure on India to hold Aveo Pharmaceuticals accountable.
For instance, the executive director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Akinbode Oluwafemi, emphasised the need for punitive action, stating, “If you don’t get punished for a crime, you will do it again.”
The BBC’s findings have sparked outrage, with calls for tighter international controls on pharmaceutical exports. As the crisis deepens, authorities in West Africa continue to battle the influx of illegal opioids, hoping to protect future generations from the devastating consequences of addiction.
Indian authorities have banned two highly-addictive opioids in response to a BBC investigation which found they were fuelling a public health crisis in parts of West Africa.
In a letter seen by the BBC from India's Drugs Controller General, Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi said permission to manufacture and export the drugs had been withdrawn.
BBC Eye found one pharmaceutical company, Aveo, had been illegally exporting a harmful mix of tapentadol and carisoprodol in countries like Ghana, Nigeria, and Cote D'Ivoire.
India's Food and Drug Administration said the company's factory in Mumbai had since been raided and its entire stock seized.
The circular from Dr Raghuvanshi, dated to Friday, cited the BBC investigation in his decision to ban all combinations of tapentadol and carisoprodol, which was to be implemented with immediate effect.
He said this also came after officials had looked into "the potential of drug abuse and its harmful impact on population".
Tapentadol is a powerful opioid, and carisoprodol is a muscle relaxant so addictive it is banned in Europe.
Carisoprodol is approved for use in the US, but only for short periods of up to three weeks. Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, insomnia and hallucinations.
The combination of the two drugs is not licensed for use anywhere in the world as they can cause breathing difficulties and seizures and an overdose can kill.
Despite the risks, these opioids are popular street drugs in many West African countries, because they are so cheap and widely available.
Publicly-available export data show that Aveo Pharmaceuticals, along with a sister company called Westfin International, has shipped millions of these tablets to Ghana and other West African countries.
The BBC World Service also found packets of these pills with the Aveo logo for sale on the streets of Nigeria, and in Ivoirian towns and cities.
Nigeria, with a population of 225 million people, provides the biggest market for these pills. It has been estimated that about four million Nigerians abuse some form of opioid, according to the nation's National Bureau of Statistics.
As part of the investigation, the BBC also sent an undercover operative - posing as an African businessman looking to supply opioids to Nigeria - inside one of Aveo's factories in India, where they filmed one of Aveo's directors, Vinod Sharma, showing off the same dangerous products the BBC found for sale across West Africa.
In the secretly recorded footage, the operative tells Sharma that his plan is to sell the pills to teenagers in Nigeria "who all love this product".
Sharma in response replies "OK," before explaining that if users take two or three pills at once, they can "relax" and agrees they can get "high".
Towards the end of the meeting, Sharma says: "This is very harmful for the health," adding that "nowadays, this is business".
Sharma and Aveo Pharmaceuticals did not respond to a request for comment when the BBC's initial investigation was published.
India's Food and Drug Administration said a sting operation saw Aveo's entire stock seized and further production halted in a statement on Friday. Further legal action will be taken against the company, it added.
The agency said it was "fully prepared" to take action against anyone involved in "illegal activities that tarnish the reputation of the country".
The FDA has been instructed to carry out further inspections to prevent the supply of the drugs, it said.
Today, the @DGatNAFDAC Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, visited the agency's Enforcement Office in Apapa, Lagos, to inspect illicit pharmaceuticals confiscated from the Idumota Open Drug Market.
The NAFDAC warehouse was filled, with some seized drugs even stored in the Director’s office.
Addressing journalists after the tour, Prof. Adeyeye emphasised, —We are not disturbing trade; we are protecting lives. What NAFDAC is doing is exactly what it is mandated to do. There is no politics in this operation!
She further noted that most shops in these markets are not registered with the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), meaning violations existed from the outset.
Defending the agency’s intensified enforcement in Onitsha, Aba, and Idumota, she highlighted that over 1,000 personnel are actively working to remove counterfeit, expired, and unregistered medicines from circulation.
I visited the Ọgbọ ogwu and adjoining market today in Onitsha. As the biggest open drug market in Africa, it is not surprising that Federal Agencies and regulatory bodies would, from time to time, visit the market to enforce standards and check the sale of fake, counterfeit, and controlled drugs in the market.
With drugs and related matters captured strictly on the exclusive list, my visit today was interventionist. First, I sought to ascertain why other markets close to the drug market in Onitsha were closed. Away from the media sensation created by a few political actors, the leadership of the Plumbing materials market, which was shut down alongside the drug market, confirmed to me that the discoveries made by the Regulators in some shops in the plumbing material market were both shocking and disturbing.
Right inside these shops were found cartons of counterfeit and controlled drugs, many of which had been banned globally. How these drugs, which have been banned globally and locally, are still being manufactured in India, pass through our various ports (sea and air), and find their way to our local drug markets remains a question only the relevant authorities can answer.
While we must rid our country of fake and counterfeit drugs, it is important for the Federal Government to tighten up the noose on the supply end of the value chain. I have directed that the search, which had commenced a few days ago, be expedited so that in less than 10 days from today, the traders at the Plumbing materials market can be allowed to reopen and commence their legitimate commercial activities.
As a government, we are already building a coordinated wholesale drug centre in Oba, Idemili South LGA, that will accommodate the new and standardized Ogbo ogwu market. This is our own contribution to ending the current chaotic market environment where fake and counterfeit drugs thrive.
ONITSHA remains the largest trading hub in Africa, we will further expand this status to a more befitting height.
Crime › Re: NAFDAC Officials & Policemen Attacked At Onitsha Market (2019 Incident) by naptu2(op): 3:22am On Feb 25, 2025*. Modified: 3:43am On Feb 25, 2025
