Help! Fake Drug Cartels After My Life! NAFDAC DG, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Cries Out

Just like they did during the headship of her predecessor, Prof. Dora Akunyili, purveyors of fake and adulterated drugs are after the life of the incumbent Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, for daring to pressurize them to stop their devilish trade.

Prof. Adeyeye, who is never known to court unnecessary publicity, raised the alarm over threats to her life and that of the agency’s staff, on Wednesday, at the State House, Abuja, while addressing State House correspondents.

The threats are coming on the heels of the NAFDAC boss’ persistent call for the death penalty for the manufacturers and merchants of fake and adulterated drugs, as well as illicit drugs.

She, therefore, urged the authorities to protect the NAFDAC staff and operatives who daily face hazardous situations while carrying put their lawful duties.

Prof. Adeyeye, according  to the Punch,  had gone to the Presidential Villa where she addressed newsmen on the agency’s recent large-scale enforcement operation across three major open drug markets—Onitsha, Aba, and Lagos—describing it as the biggest in NAFDAC’s history.

She also disclosed that the value of the seized illicit and fake drugs was estimated at about N1 trillion.

As it is now, so it was for Prof. Dora Akunyili who, during her tenure as DG, between 2001 and 2009, was also haunted by drug cartels. She narrowly missed assassin’s bullets as a result of her relentless campaign counterfeit drugs in Nigeria.

For Akunyili, her vigorous war against the merchants of deaths was beyond just a job. It was a calling and a crusade motivated by the tragic death of her sister, who died after receiving fake insulin.

THE Punch recalled that Akunyili’s campaigns led to the closure of open-air medicine markets and the confiscation of large quantities of fake drugs, which earned her numerous threats and an assassination attempt in 2003.
Her actions significantly disrupted the operations of drug cartels, making her a target for retaliation.

Adeyeye, the incumbent DG has stepped up operations against counterfeit drugs in recent weeks and the cartels are under heat, feeling very uncomfortable.

At the State House briefing on Wednesday, the NAFDAC DG chronicled the many headaches of NAFDAC as she confronts the counterfeiters.

“I told you about the attempted murder about six months ago,” she recounted. “One of our staff in Kano—his child was kidnapped because the father was doing what he was supposed to do. Fortunately, the child escaped.

“For me, I have two policemen living in my house 24/7 in Abuja and Lagos. I don’t have a life. I cannot go anywhere without police, and to me, that is not my way of living. But I don’t have a choice because we’ve got to save our country. Nonetheless, I also use common sense.”

Meanwhile, the NAFDAC DG restated that seized consignments of banned, expired, unregistered, substandard, and falsified medical products will be destroyed publicly in each of the locations where they were seized after the exercise.

She urged the National Assembly to expedite action  on the amendment of NAFDAC ACT NI LFN and Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods C34 ACT to include LIFE SENTENCE & DEATH PENALTY in the penalties for crimes committed under these Acts.

“With the signing into law of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) for the forfeiture of assets, the assets recovered from suspects will be treated as proceeds of crime after their conviction by the courts,” she declared.

“We use this opportunity to call on the National Assembly to expedite the amendment of NAFDAC ACT NI LFN and Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods C34 ACT to include LIFE SENTENCE & DEATH PENALTY in the penalties for crimes committed under these Acts.”

Prof. Adeyeye described the exercise as “purely an enforcement operation to protect public health and rid our country of falsified and substandard medical products.”

“Many people are dying, and many have died as a result of the activities of fake drug peddlers.”

Prof. Adeyeye expatiated on the ongoing crackdown on the illicit drug trade by operatives of the agency which, she said, had resulted in the seizure of 87 truckloads of banned, expired, and substandard medical products, including USAID and UNFPA-donated antiretroviral drugs, male and female condoms.

The value of the seized consignments, she emphasized, was at least N1 trillion, but it could be much higher after proper assessment.

The operation was executed in Ariaria and Eziukwu Markets (Aba), Bridge Head Market (Onitsha), and Idumota Drug Market (Lagos).

The operation, she said, was part of NAFDAC’s National Action Plan (NAP 2.0) 2023-2027, aimed at eliminating counterfeit medicines, improving regulatory compliance, and safeguarding public health.

Prof. Adeyeye revealed that the exercise, which commenced on February 9, 2025, involved 1,100 security operatives, including military personnel, police, and Department of State Services (DSS) agents.

According to her, the security forces cordoned off the markets to prevent traders from concealing or smuggling out illegal products.

She Prof. Adeyeye affirmed that the operation uncovered shocking violations of drug storage and distribution regulations, including “diverted donated medical supplies: Large quantities of USAID and UNFPA-donated antiretroviral drugs and condoms, meant to support Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS response, were found expired and repackaged for sale. These life-saving medications were either improperly stored or deliberately resold for profit, undermining global efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Significant volumes of Tramadol, Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), Nitrazepam, and Diazepam—drugs linked to rising drug abuse, crime, and insecurity—were seized.”

The Director General was alarmed by the sheer volume of the narcotics which, she emphasized, was sufficient to destabilize national security.

The NAFDAC boss also revealed that a large quantity of Tafradol, recently banned in India after a BBC undercover investigation exposed its illicit export to Africa, was discovered in Onitsha, Anambra State.

Tafradol, the drug, unapproved anywhere in the world, has been widely abused in Nigeria.

Prof. Adeyeye noted that vaccines, prescription medicines, and thermolabile drugs (requiring cold storage) were found stacked in toilets, staircases, and rooftops at dangerously high temperatures.

Similarly, Oxytocin injections (used for inducing  pregnant women at labour) and other essential medicines were stored under extreme heat, rendering them ineffective and potentially harmful.

Some warehouses were packed with pharmaceuticals in rooms with no windows, where temperatures could reach 40°C, accelerating chemical degradation.

On fake, expired, and unregistered drugs, she disclosed that banned and expired drugs were hidden in plumbing and wood plank sections of Onitsha’s Bridge Head Market, far from the authorities’ usual focus, while unregistered and falsified products were found in over 7,000 shops screened during the operation.

The Director General announced that so far, 40 arrests have been made, with suspects facing prosecution.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, coordinated security forces for the operation, ensuring strict compliance.

She also said a database of the offending shops and their owners has been compiled for further legal action.

According to her, the seized drugs will be publicly destroyed in the three cities after the exercise.

She spoke of plans by NAFDAC and the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) to relocate all open drug markets within the next year to six Coordinated Wholesale Centres (CWCs), one per geopolitical zone.