The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered a large-scale operation involving the manufacture and sale of fake and expired drugs at the Ogbo Ogu Market, also known as Head-Bridge Drug Market, in Onitsha, Anambra State. The South-East Zonal Director of NAFDAC, Dr. Martins Iluyomade, led a surprise raid on the market at 4 AM on Monday, accompanied by heavily armed security operatives from the military and the Nigeria Police Force.
During the operation, NAFDAC officials stormed multiple shops and warehouses, discovering cartons of counterfeit, substandard, and expired drugs. Shockingly, the team also found empty drug containers and packaging materials printed with fake NAFDAC numbers and details of both local and foreign manufacturers. Some traders were allegedly preparing to package fake drugs into these containers to pass them off as genuine products.
Speaking at the scene, Dr. Iluyomade warned that the market posed a serious public health risk, as many of the counterfeit drugs were essential medicines that unsuspecting patients rely on.
“You can’t guarantee what would be put in these containers and packets. This is why people are dying because the medicines they are buying are fake, substandard, and expired,” he lamented.
The operation was part of a nationwide crackdown, with simultaneous raids being conducted across major drug markets in the South-East. Dr. Iluyomade revealed that NAFDAC had previously collaborated with the market leadership to address the issue but opted for a direct approach this time to protect them from blackmail and attacks by traders involved in the illegal activities.
He vowed that the exercise would not end soon until the market was fully sanitized.
“The enormity of the work is huge. I can’t say how long it will take, but even if it takes a year, we will continue because we want to cleanse this market of fake drugs and save Nigerian lives,” he stated.
The NAFDAC boss further warned Nigerians to be extra cautious when purchasing medicines, saying, “We used to say ‘shine your eyes’ when buying medicines. Now, it is ‘shine your whole body.’”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the drug market, Mr. Chukwuleta Ndubuisi, declined to comment, stating he needed more details about the raid before making a statement. NAFDAC has assured that all culprits will be brought to justice as investigations continue.
