Merchants are flooding Nigeria’s porous borders with fake antimalarials, antibiotics, and oxytocin-like meds, endangering lives while over-the-counter availability gives consumers unchecked access to these harmful drugs.
Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of NAFDAC, warned on Sunday of a surge in expired, substandard, and falsified medicines—especially targeting children—and pointed to major hubs like Aba Market in Osisioma, Onitsha, and Idumota in Lagos as the central warehouses for these dangerous knock-offs.
Despite policies empowering local manufacturers to produce essential medicines, counterfeit products continue to stifle trade with cheaper, substandard alternatives.
“People are deliberately falsifying medicines. Some get through the ports and borders. We have said enough is enough. It is also part of our global benchmarking and market control so that the drugs our citizens use are safe, not drugs that will kill them,” Adeyeye stated.
With malaria infecting up to N68 million Nigerians yearly and killing up to 140,000, many turn to antimalaria drugs over the counter—often bypassing proper testing—while Nigeria also grapples with antimicrobial resistance fueled by unregulated antibiotic sales from unlicensed dealers.
Adeyeye expressed deep concern over counterfeit oxytocin, vital for easing childbirth, and, although NAFDAC has ramped up raids and seizures, she urged Nigerians to buy medicines only from reputable sources.
In 2017, the WHO revealed that one in 10 medicines in low- and middle-income countries were substandard or fake, often leading to failed treatments and even death. Counterfeit medical products, produced by complex networks and sold online, exploit the demand for cheap drugs—a challenge that calls for draconian penalties, with NAFDAC even suggesting death sentences to deter dealers.
Last week, NAFDAC uncovered a major operation in Umumeje village, Abia State—near Ariaria International Market—where expired and falsified drugs were being repackaged and relabeled for resale, posing significant health risks. Seized items included expired potassium chloride, allergy medication, immune boosters, and cholesterol treatments, along with equipment used to repackage and falsify expiration dates.
During the raid, some individuals were arrested, though the prime suspect remains at large despite efforts to reach him. Later in the week, NAFDAC and NSA security forces raided another drugs depot at 269 Faulks Road, Aba, where machines for rebranding medications and a large cache of repackaged containers and fraudulent packaging materials were discovered.
In 2020 and 2021, WHO studies in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Uganda revealed widespread public unawareness about the risks of fake medical products, leading to unintentional consumption. Adeyeye stressed that to combat this crisis, the agency urgently needs additional staff and increased funding to secure unprotected borders and boost its port presence.
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