Traders lose N20bn as intersociety seeks end to siege on Onitsha bridge head market

From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha

Foremost civil rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has called on the authorities of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to withdraw the hired soldiers of the Nigerian Army from the Onitsha Drug Market and five adjoining markets without further delay.

The rights group also tasked NAFDAC to refrain from exposing the Nigerian military to unprofessionalism and corrupt practices, reopen the shutdown markets, and refund over N20 billion in estimated losses incurred by innocent traders in the last two weeks.

Intersociety, in a statement issued in Onitsha and signed by Board Chair Emeka Umeagbalasi; Head of Democracy and Good Governance Program, Chinwe Umeche, Esq.; Head of Campaign and Publicity, Chidinma Evangeline Udegbunam, Esq.; and Head of Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Obianuju Joy Igboeli, strongly condemned the total shutdown and militarisation of the market since Sunday, February 9, 2025.

The Onitsha Bridge Head Drug Market, popularly known as Ogbo Ogwu, the largest open drug market in Nigeria, was shut down and militarised alongside those of Idumota in Lagos and Ariaria in Aba, Abia State.

The NAFDAC-hired soldiers of the Nigerian Army, under the coordination of the Commandant of the Onitsha 302 Artillery Regiment and General Support Service, Col. Adamu K. Muhammad, had on the said date invaded the crowded market and five adjoining others: namely, the Oduwani part of the Carpentry Tools (Power Tools and Allied) Market, the Surgical Line Market, the Plumbing Materials Market, the Ogbogwu Fashion Line Market, the Bridgehead Provision Market, and part of the Timber Dealers Market.

The markets were shut down and taken over by soldiers of the Nigerian Army and their NAFDAC hirers, during which the NAFDAC field officials and leaders of the hired soldiers forced leaders of the affected markets to surrender the keys of their gates and lines and took possession of them till date.

Intersociety, while bemoaning the situation, said: “Since then, it is not only that traders of the affected Onitsha Drug Market have incurred billions of naira in losses amounting to not less than N20 billion, but have also been starved, threatened, and forced out of their legitimate businesses. The worst of it all is that traders and leaders of the five unaffected markets have permanently been shut out and denied access to their shops and legitimate livelihoods.

“Intersociety has also since Monday, February 10, 2025, sent ‘undercovers’ into the affected and unaffected market areas, during which several acts of corruption involving some deployed soldiers and field officials of the drug agency were clandestinely reported through ‘Widows’ Connection’, tactics reportedly deployed by suspected illicit drug kingpins and desperate others to corruptly gain access into some market stalls in the hours of the blue law to smuggle contraband and company drugs—during which tens of millions of naira reportedly exchanged hands.

“The above, if true, is a clear case of encouraging corruption and other corrupt practices among the deployed soldiers of the country’s armed forces and their high commands.”

The group stated that while they are not against a sanitisation exercise by NAFDAC geared towards ridding the country of fake and adulterated drugs and stamping out their dealers and manufacturers, the organisation strongly condemns the militarist approach adopted and the corruptive attitude of the authorities of NAFDAC, particularly the way and manner the Onitsha Drug Market and five adjoining others that have nothing whatsoever to do with fake and adulterated drugs were invaded, shut down, and put under lock and key since February 9, 2025.

“NAFDAC and its hired soldiers of the Nigerian Army are also insensitive to the plight of over 95% of traders in the Onitsha Drug Market and 100% of traders of the other five adjoining markets unlawfully and militarily shut down and forced out of their legitimate businesses since Sunday, February 9, 2025. From all indications, NAFDAC and its hired Nigerian Army invaders goofed when they heavily relied on guesswork and poor planning and despicably engaged in punitive, biased, discriminatory, and selective enforcement operations.

“Instead of using credible intelligence through inter-agency intelligence gathering and sharing that should have identified and profiled the illicit drug kingpins for easy tracking and apprehension using digital and allied manual processes—including their identities, locations, and places of abode and criminal syndicates such as corrupt soldiers and police squads providing cover and protection during importation or manufacturing or couriering of such illicit drugs—NAFDAC and its hired officers and personnel of the Nigerian Army and their high command have chosen to resort to punishment and persecution of innocent traders of the Onitsha Drug Market and shielding of their illicit drug kingpins; especially as many, if not most, of such illicit drug kingpins have relocated out of the market to their private mansions and other protected enclaves from where their illicit businesses are operated uncaught and under heavy protection of those drawn from coercive establishments that are supposed to go after them and bring them to justice.”

Intersociety also condemned the strict registration procedures or conditions imposed by NAFDAC on non-registered but universally approved drugs, presently classified by the agency as “contraband drugs”.

“Other than the likes of codeine, cocaine, and narcotic-tramadol and allied illicit others, the universally approved drugs presently in use globally which bear no ‘NAFDAC numbers’ in Nigeria must be liberalised and legalised, and their registrations with NAFDAC made easy or obtained with little costs or given free of charge. This is more so when such health-friendly drugs are used to treat patients all over the world, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, the rest of Africa, and the Middle East.

“Experiences have shown that when certain products are forced underground through government contraband policy, their dealers go underground with them and devise illegitimate tricks and dirty means to survive and remain uncaught in such businesses. NAFDAC and its hired Nigerian Army must also avoid targeting ‘Igbo-dominated drug markets’ alone and overlooking those owned by members of other ethnic groups such as ‘the Yoruba and the Hausa illicit and contraband drug businesses and dealers’ thriving in places like Kano; and must also avoid resorting to transferred criminal liability—by way of arresting and punishing the uninvolved citizens and their properties in lieu of ‘criminal persons and their properties’—a serious breach of Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.

“We hereby call on the authorities of NAFDAC and their hired officers and personnel and high command of the Nigerian Army to, as a matter of utmost immediacy, reopen the militarily, corruptly, and unlawfully shutdown Onitsha Drug Market and those located in Idumota in Lagos State and Ariaria in Aba, Abia State. NAFDAC must refrain from encouraging corruption and unprofessionalism in the Nigerian military and stop using them to militarise the agency’s civil and law enforcement operations. Traders of the Onitsha Drug Market and those in Lagos and Abia must steer clear of fake and adulterated drugs or trading on illicit hard drugs such as codeine, cocaine, contraband tramadol, and allied others.

“The Executive Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Soludo, is hereby called upon to wade into the matter and facilitate the speedy reopening of the Onitsha Drug Market and five adjoining others. NAFDAC is further advised to go after fake and illicit drug kingpins responsible and leave innocent others alone, who constitute over 95% of the entire market’s traders.

“Breaking market stores belonging to traders of the market in their absence and confiscating their goods, whether done in the hours of the blue law or in broad daylight, is a serious misconduct and an unlawful act capable of attracting a flurry of lawsuits against NAFDAC and its hired officers and personnel and high command of the Nigerian Army.

“The NAFDAC field operators must always go to the equity with clean hands and avoid operational illegalities and corrupt practices, as well as being corporately a party to militarisation and stifling of civic space in Nigeria or any part thereof.” Intersociety stated.