‘Our Mandate Is To Protect Nigerians’ — Adeyeye Defends NAFDAC’s Raids On Fake Drugs

The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, has reaffirmed that the agency’s ongoing clampdown on illegal pharmaceuticals is purely in the interest of public health, dismissing any claims of political interference.

Speaking during an official visit to Lagos on Saturday, Adeyeye stressed that NAFDAC is committed to its mandate of safeguarding Nigerians from harmful and counterfeit drugs.

Naija News reports that her visit came after the agency seized large consignments of illicit pharmaceuticals—including Cocodamol and falsified GSK Ampiclox—at the Idumota Open Drug Market in Lagos.

Officials also discovered unregistered, expired, and banned drugs, including controlled substances.

Following an inspection of the confiscated medicines, Adeyeye maintained that NAFDAC’s actions align with its core responsibility.

“We’re protecting lives. What NAFDAC is doing is exactly what it is mandated to do. There is no politics in this operation,” she stated.

The NAFDAC DG also revealed that several traders in the market operate without proper registration under the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN).

According to Adeyeye, over 1,000 NAFDAC personnel are currently engaged in efforts to remove counterfeit, unregistered, and expired drugs from circulation.

NAFDAC has intensified its enforcement activities across the country, recently carrying out similar raids in Onitsha, Anambra State, and Aba, Abia State.

In a major operation, authorities also shut down the Onitsha Bridgehead Drug Market over allegations of selling illegal pharmaceuticals.