- Counterfeit Drugs, Contaminated Tomato Paste Seized by NAFDAC
- The consignment was officially handed over at Onne Port on Saturday, 2 August to NAFDAC DG
- Adeyeye urged Nigerians to assist the agency by reporting any suspected production
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) announced on Sunday that it has received 15 containers filled with substandard and counterfeit pharmaceutical products, along with tomato paste, which were imported through Onne Port in Port Harcourt.
Eko Hot Blog reports that in a press release signed by NAFDAC’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, the agency revealed that the fake products are estimated to be worth about N20.5 billion on the street.
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According to NAFDAC, the shipment included 11 containers of unregistered and banned pharmaceutical products, and 4 containers of unsafe tomato paste.
The consignment was officially handed over at Onne Port on Saturday, 2 August, to NAFDAC’s Director General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, by the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi. This handover is part of the ongoing collaboration between the two agencies.
In the statement, Professor Adeyeye praised the Comptroller General and his team for supporting the fight against the importation of illegal, harmful, and counterfeit goods.
She urged Nigerians to assist the agency by reporting any suspected production, importation, distribution, or sale of fake and substandard products. Reports can be made at NAFDAC offices across the country or through its social media platforms.
Highlighting the importance of strong collaboration between institutions, she reaffirmed NAFDAC’s commitment to developing new strategies and working with responsible organizations and individuals to create a safer and healthier society.
She emphasized that protecting public health is a shared duty that NAFDAC cannot fulfill alone.
“Among the various substandard regulated products seized were 1.3 million bottles of codeine syrup (a highly controlled prescription-only medicine), 12.6 million tablets of Tramadol, a highly addictive prescription-only drug product used for the management of post-operative pain in adults, as well as 9.3 million tablets of substandard and falsified (branded) Diclofenac tablets (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory prescription drug used for the management of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis).
“Other regulated products seized include 280 packages of Hyergra tablets (a falsified brand of Sildenafil Citrate for the management of erectile dysfunction in men), as well as four containers of unregistered and substandard tomato paste,” the statement read.
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