AFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, who represented the Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, said the process began the previous year, when he and the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service inspected the containers before they were handed over to NAFDAC.
“The total combined value of these items to be destroyed today is estimated at 2.6 billion naira,” Iluyomade said.
He commended the Customs Service for its cooperation, noting that the exercise demonstrated the commitment of officers from both agencies to implementing their existing memorandum of understanding.
Iluyomade disclosed that more containers were still being transferred from the port for destruction. He urged the Customs Service to facilitate their movement, noting that delays increased the cost of the operation.
Reaffirming the agency’s commitment to public health, he said, “To all Nigerians, our work is to safeguard the health of the nation.”
Speaking in his capacity as Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit Medicines, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods in Nigeria, Iluyomade called for stronger cooperation among security agencies to tackle the circulation of fake medicines and unsafe food products.
“We need more synergy among all security agencies,” he said.
He described the circulation of unsafe food and medicines as a security concern, arguing that protecting Nigerians also required ensuring access to safe food and medicines.
The task force chairman urged Nigerians to report suspected counterfeit products through NAFDAC’s established channels, including its offices nationwide and official communication platforms.
He cautioned members of the public against publicising complaints online before notifying the agency, explaining that doing so could alert those responsible and give them an opportunity to conceal evidence before enforcement officers could act.
“If you see something, you say something,” Iluyomade said, urging Nigerians to support the agency’s enforcement efforts by providing useful information.
Deputy Director Rita Chukwuma, who represented the NAFDAC South-South Zonal Director, Pharmacist Chukwuma Oligbu, said the exercise was part of the agency’s regulatory responsibility to protect public health.
Chukwuma explained that the products destroyed included items intercepted and seized by NAFDAC, as well as expired products voluntarily submitted by companies.
She said the exercise was intended to prevent expired and substandard products from finding their way into the market.
She added that NAFDAC worked with the military, police, paramilitary organisations and other relevant agencies to carry out its regulatory duties.
Also speaking, A. E. Kolesho, who represented the enforcement units of the Nigeria Customs Service, warned that unsafe products posed serious health risks.
“They are the ones causing sicknesses, manner of sicknesses we are experiencing today,” Kolesho said.
She urged NAFDAC to sustain its enforcement activities, expressing support for efforts to protect Nigerians from the dangers associated with unsafe products.