NAFDAC destroys N11bn smuggled, expired drugs

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has destroyed smuggled, expired, and counterfeit drugs valued at approximately N11bn in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The destruction took place on Wednesday at the Moniya dumpsite in the Akinyele Local Government Area.

NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, represented by the agency’s South-West Zonal Director, Roseline Ajayi, disclosed that the products destroyed were worth N10,991,458,374.60.

She explained that the items were seized or forfeited from five South-West states (excluding Lagos) and Kwara State due to its proximity to the zone.

Speaking at the event, Adeyeye said:“The destroyed items, collected from five states in the South-West Zone (excluding Lagos) and Kwara State in the North Central Zone, include expired products voluntarily forfeited by those in the drug distribution chain, unregistered and unwholesome products raided from outlets and warehouses, fake and counterfeit drugs, and unregistered imported products smuggled into the country.”

She emphasised that the exercise was part of NAFDAC’s broader mission to safeguard public health and eliminate substandard and harmful products from circulation.

The NAFDAC DG  highlighted the agency’s use of strategies such as product registration, laboratory testing, inspections, and enforcement actions to protect consumers.

“This destruction exercise is a vital component of NAFDAC’s investigative and enforcement efforts to eliminate unwholesome, substandard, and counterfeit products from the market,” she stated.

Adeyeye also extended gratitude to partner organisations, including the Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Police Force, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, for their collaboration in the fight against counterfeit drugs and substandard products.

“Together, we can keep Nigeria safe and free from unwholesome medicinal and regulated products,” she said.