9 hours Ago By Janet Ogundepo
Janet OgundepoThe National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, in its ongoing enforcement operation at the Idumota open drug market in Lagos State, has discovered unregistered narcotics and counterfeit GlaxoSmithKline medicines stored in toilets. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the agency shared photos and videos of the seized products, including injections, painkillers and antibiotics. The post read, “In the ongoing enforcement operation at the Idumota open drug market, NAFDAC has uncovered more alarming products, including unregistered narcotics, counterfeit GSK medicines, and vaccines stored in toilets.
”On Tuesday, the agency also posted that during an enforcement exercise in Idumota, its officials seized “banned drugs such as Analgin, vaccines meant for cold chain storage, oxytocin for maternal health, improperly stored outside the cold chain and donated medical products.”In one of the videos, one of the officials holding several packs of Kiss Condom said, “These condoms are donated USAID of UNFPA condoms that expired since 2022. So it is revalidating and putting them into KISS packaging materials and extending the dates to 2027.
So what you find in KISS all over the market are not KISS condoms, they are counterfeit versions of the expired donated condoms.”In a recent interview with Channels Television, NAFDAC’s Director General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, discussed the progress in the ongoing Open Drug Market enforcement exercise and addressed the illegal importation of banned drugs into Nigeria, the need for increased funding for the agency, false claims that 70 per cent of drugs in Nigeria are substandard, clarifying that the figure only applied to Oxytocyin and the most commonly counterfeited drugs, including antimalarials, antibiotics and children’s medicines.In a summary of the agency’s first week of enforcement exercise in Idumota, NAFDAC stated that over 3,000 shops have been screened and placed on hold.
It added, “The operation exposed severed lapses in storage conditions, with medicines, including injections, vaccines and intravenous drips, kept in unsanitary environments. These poor storage practices compromise drug safety, efficacy and quality, posing serious health risks to consumers.“So far, over 10 arrests have been made, targeting traders who attempted to evade enforcement by hiding or relocating products, particularly at night.
” The enforcement operation remains ongoing as officials work to dismantle illegal drug networks and ensure compliance with safety regulations.Copyright PUNCHAll rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
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