The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) raided Sahad stores, H-Medix, and other markets in Abuja yesterday for selling counterfeit products.
The agency equally raided H-Medix in Wuse 2 and Gwarinpa, 3rd Avenue, as well as Utako Market, all in the FCT.
During the raid at H-Medix, the agency discovered and seized counterfeit cosmetics, while fake drugs were also confiscated at Utako Market.
Mr. Embugushiki-Musa Godiya, the NAFDAC Head of Investigation and Enforcement/Federal Taskforce, FCT, Abuja, said the enforcement team had also raided Kugbo markets in Nyanya and Mararaba axes in Nasarawa State on Tuesday.
He informed the newsmen that the team also raided Wuse Market on Wednesday, seizing goods valued at millions of naira.
Godiya said that the three-day operation was carried out based on an intelligent report the agency gathered from well-meaning Nigerians.
“We have been able to successfully recover some of the counterfeit products and evacuate them for destruction. Our concern is one of the products purported to be a NIVEA-NAFDAC-regulated product, but it is not.
“The most shocking thing to me is that such substandard NIVEA cream and other cosmetics are even more expensive than the ones approved by NAFDAC. This is criminal.
“The market value of what we have seen so far for drug hawking is N5 million, and for the NIVEA products, other cosmetics and other products, including Jik bleach, Harpic toilet cleaner, and Airwick room freshener, all counterfeit in large quantity, valued at N45 million.
“The total value of all the goods seized during the operation is N50 million,” the head of operations said.
He said such counterfeit products could cause cancer in the body, damage the kidneys, and cause rashes.
He urged perpetrators of such acts to desist from them, stressing that “NAFDAC enforcement will make sure it gets to the root of the syndicate that imports these products.”
He said the agency has zero tolerance for compromised standards, adding that
“NAFDAC will arrest whoever is involved in this crime.”
He called on Nigerians to be careful with the kind of products they buy and to always watch out for the NAFDAC registration number before they buy.
Godiya also urged Nigerians to stop parroting drug hawkers for their safety, saying “people must shine their eyes before they purchase any product.”
