The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has taken delivery of substandard and falsified goods seized by the Nigeria Customs Service at Onne Port in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

This is contained in a statement on Sunday in Abuja by NAFDAC’s resident media consultant, Olusayo Akintola.

According to the statement, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, received the items on Saturday.

The consignment included 11 containers of various unregistered or banned pharmaceutical products and four containers of unwholesome tomato paste.

The handover was conducted by the comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service as part of ongoing institutional collaboration between the two agencies.

Among the seized items were 1.3 million bottles of codeine syrup, a highly controlled prescription medicine, and 12.6 million tablets of tramadol, a highly addictive painkiller.

Also listed were 9.3 million tablets of substandard and falsified branded diclofenac, a prescription drug used to treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Additionally, 280 packs of falsified Hyergra (sildenafil citrate), used in managing erectile dysfunction, and four containers of unregistered tomato paste were also confiscated.

The street value of the 16 seized containers is estimated at N20.5 billion.

Mrs Adeyeye commended the comptroller-general and the Nigeria Customs team for their role in combating the importation of illicit, substandard, and unwholesome products.

She warned importers and their collaborators, both local and international, to desist from engaging in illegal activities.

She stated, “Substandard, fake food and drug products will not be allowed access to our people under my watch,” adding that threats and intimidation aimed at discouraging the agency’s staff would not succeed.

She called on Nigerians to support NAFDAC by reporting any suspected cases of the manufacture, importation, distribution, or sale of fake and substandard products through NAFDAC’s offices or official social media channels.

Mrs Adeyeye also highlighted the dangers of consuming such products, which included acute food poisoning, gastrointestinal illness, nutritional deficiencies, chronic organ damage, and increased cancer risk.

She reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to strengthening inter-agency cooperation and evolving new strategies to safeguard public health. 

(NAN)