THE Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, on Wednesday raised the alarm over threats to her life and that of the agency’s staff, calling on the authorities to protect the operatives who daily navigate a great deal of hazards while carrying out their assigned responsibilities.
This comes as the NAFDAC boss prescribed the death penalty for counterfeit and illicit drug peddlers in the country.
Prof. Adeyeye addressed newsmen at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where she had gone to speak on the agency’s recent large-scale enforcement operation across three major open drug markets—Onitsha, Aba, and Lagos—describing it as the biggest in NAFDAC’s history. She also disclosed that the value of the seized illicit and fake drugs was estimated at about N1 trillion.
Recall that Prof. Dora Akunyili was haunted by drug cartels due to her relentless efforts to combat counterfeit drugs in Nigeria during her tenure as the Director-General of NAFDAC from 2001 to 2009.
Her personal motivation stemmed from the death of her sister, who died after receiving fake insulin. Akunyili’s campaigns led to the closure of open-air medicine markets and the confiscation of large quantities of fake drugs, which earned her numerous threats and an assassination attempt in 2003.
Her actions significantly disrupted the operations of drug cartels, making her a target for retaliation.
Narrating the agency’s challenges, the NAFDAC DG said, “I told you about the attempted murder on me about six months ago. One of our staff in Kano, his six-year=old child was kidnapped because the father was doing what he was supposed to do. Fortunately, the child escaped.
“For me, I have two policemen living in my house 24/7 in Abuja and Lagos. I don’t have a life. I cannot go anywhere without police, and to me, that is not my way of living. But I don’t have a choice because we’ve got to save our country. Nonetheless, I also use common sense.”
Meanwhile, the NAFDAC DG explained that the seized consignments of banned, expired, unregistered, substandard, and falsified medical products will be destroyed publicly in each of the locations where they were seized after the exercise.
She called for speedy work by the National Assembly to expedite the amendment of NAFDAC ACT NI LFN and Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods C34 ACT to include LIFE SENTENCE & DEATH PENALTY in the penalties for crimes committed under these Acts.
“With the signing into law of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) for the forfeiture of assets, the assets recovered from suspects will be treated as proceeds of crime after their conviction by the courts.
“We use this opportunity to call on the National Assembly to expedite the amendment of NAFDAC ACT NI LFN and Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods C34 ACT to include LIFE SENTENCE & DEATH PENALTY in the penalties for crimes committed under these Acts,” she stated.
Adeyeye described the exercise as “purely an enforcement operation to protect public health and rid our country of falsified and substandard medical products.”
“Many people are dying, and many have died as a result of the activities of fake drug peddlers.”
Shedding more light, Prof. Adeyeye said the ongoing crackdown on the illicit drug trade by operatives of the agency has also resulted in the seizure of 87 truckloads of banned, expired, and substandard medical products, including USAID and UNFPA-donated antiretroviral drugs, male and female condoms.
She said the value of the seizures is at least N1 trillion and could be much higher after assessment.
The operation was executed in Ariaria and Eziukwu Markets (Aba), Bridge Head Market (Onitsha), and Idumota Drug Market (Lagos).
She said it was part of NAFDAC’s National Action Plan (NAP 2.0) 2023-2027, aimed at eliminating counterfeit medicines, improving regulatory compliance, and safeguarding public health.
Prof. Adeyeye revealed that the exercise, which commenced on February 9, 2025, involved 1,100 security operatives, including military personnel, police, and Department of State Services (DSS) agents.
According to her, the security forces cordoned off the markets to prevent traders from concealing or smuggling out illegal products.
She affirmed that the operation uncovered shocking violations of drug storage and distribution regulations, including “diverted donated medical supplies: Large quantities of USAID and UNFPA-donated antiretroviral drugs and condoms, meant to support Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS response, were found expired and repackaged for sale. These life-saving medications were either improperly stored or deliberately resold for profit, undermining global efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Significant volumes of Tramadol, Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), Nitrazepam, and Diazepam—drugs linked to rising drug abuse, crime, and insecurity—were seized.”
The Director General said the sheer volume of these narcotics was deemed sufficient to destabilize national security.
Also, the NAFDAC boss said a large quantity of Tafradol, recently banned in India after a BBC undercover investigation exposed its illicit export to Africa, was discovered in Onitsha.
According to her, the drug, unapproved anywhere in the world, has been widely abused in Nigeria.
Prof. Adeyeye noted that vaccines, prescription medicines, and thermolabile drugs (requiring cold storage) were found stacked in toilets, staircases, and rooftops at dangerously high temperatures.
Similarly, Oxytocin injections and other essential medicines were stored under extreme heat, rendering them ineffective and potentially harmful.
Some warehouses were packed with pharmaceuticals in rooms with no windows, where temperatures could reach 40°C, accelerating chemical degradation.
On fake, expired, and unregistered drugs, she disclosed that banned and expired drugs were hidden in plumbing and wood plank sections of Onitsha’s Bridge Head Market, far from the authorities’ usual focus, while unregistered and falsified products were found in over 7,000 shops screened during the operation.
The Director General announced that so far, 40 arrests have been made, with suspects facing prosecution.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, coordinated security forces for the operation, ensuring strict compliance.
She also said a database of the offending shops and their owners has been compiled for further legal action.
According to her, the seized drugs will be publicly destroyed in the three cities after the exercise.
She spoke of plans by NAFDAC and the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) to relocate all open drug markets within the next year to six Coordinated Wholesale Centres (CWCs), one per geopolitical zone.