The National Agency For Food and Drug Administration and Control in collaboration with the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria on Monday raided and sealed not less than 1,321 patent medicine outlets in Sabon Gari open market in Kano.
The joint team of regulators enforcement operations came 72 hours after the Federal High Court ordered the drug dealers to vacate their open market premises and relocate to the Coordinated Wholesale Centre, at Dangwauro village on Zaria road in the state.
While briefing newsmen on Monday, the NAFDAC Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Mr. Francis Ononiwu, explained that the closure was part of exercising its mandate to sanitize unwholesome pharmaceutical practices by the dealers.
According to Mr. Ononiwu, over the years the patent medicine traders have constituted an imminent threat to public health following the distribution of unwholesome pharmaceutical products to unsuspected members of the public.
Despite operating without valid registration or certification by PCN and other regulatory agencies, the NAFDAC officer expressed worry that medicine dealers have perpetrated a chaotic chain of supply, inimical to the efficacy of pharmaceutical products.
He further disclosed that NAFDAC and PCN are mandated to forcefully evict the drug sellers from the Sabon Gari open market and relocate them to Government government-designed Coordinated Wholesale Centre, following the court verdict.
He wanted the dealers to appreciate the positive reason behind their relocation to the coordinated centre, as part of efforts to fight drug abuse in the country.
“Following the court judgment that ordered the relocation of the patent medicine dealers to CWC, the NAFDAC and PCN joint enforcement team embarked on the enforcement action between the 17th and 18th of February during which not less than 1,321 outlets were sealed.
“The operations were executed in line with the enforcement and regulatory task of the agencies necessary to sanitize drug distribution in Nigeria and to checkmate the chaotic supply of pharmaceuticals, in the open market, a development inimical to public health.
“These people have caused a lot of damage to the health of the society because, apart from dispensing fake and adulterated medicines, they lack the required cold store for pharmaceutical storage. With that alone, so many medicines on their shelf have lost efficacy because of the high temperature of where they stock products.”
Meanwhile, the Sabon patent medicine dealers on Monday matched to the Kano state government House to register their displeasure over the eviction and relocation order issued by the court.
The drug dealers seen in their long possession and placards with various inscriptions rejecting their forceful vacation, along state road pleaded on the state government for intervention.
Speaking at the government house, the Chairman of the association Alh. Musbahu Khalid lamented the act of exploitation being subjected to by the owners of the new center at Dangwauro village. He however appealed to the state government to takeover of the CWC for proper management.
Receiving the aggrieved medicine dealers, Alh. Shehu Sagagi, Chief of Staff to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, appealed for calm and warned them not to take laws into their hands. He promised that the government would examine the development to amicably address the situation.