The Director-General of the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, has raised the alarm over threats to her life and the safety of the agency’s staff.
She urged authorities to provide stronger protection as they combat the dangerous trade of fake and substandard drugs in Nigeria.
At a State House briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, She advocated for the death penalty for those involved in the production and sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals.
She revealed that NAFDAC had seized over N1 trillion worth of illicit and expired drugs in an unprecedented crackdown on substandard medical products.
The agency’s recent enforcement efforts led to the confiscation of 87 truckloads of banned, expired, and fake medical supplies.
Among the seized items were USAID- and UNFPA-donated antiretroviral drugs, male and female condoms, and other compromised medical products.
She described the operation which targeted Nigeria’s three major open drug markets: Ariaria and Eziukwu Markets (Aba, Abia State),
Bridge Head Market (Onitsha, Anambra State), Idumota Drug Market (Lagos State) as the largest in NAFDAC’s history.
She estimated the value of the seized products at N1 trillion, though She added that further assessment might reveal an even higher figure.
Highlighting the personal and professional risks faced by NAFDAC staff, Adeyeye, recounted disturbing incidents of kidnapping attempts and physical threats.
According to her, She now lives under constant police protection, with two armed officers stationed at her residences in Abuja and Lagos.
The threats facing Adeyeye have echoes of those experienced by late Prof. Dora Akunyili, who led NAFDAC from 2001 to 2009 and became a target of powerful drug cartels due to her relentless fight against counterfeit drugs.
