Following the ongoing crackdown on illicit drug trade in major drug markets nationwide, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, yesterday, said it had shut down over 11,000 shops in Aba, Onitsha, and Idumota drug markets even as it has arrested 40 people linked to the sale of unregistered and dangerous drugs.

Conducting journalists around its warehouse in Apapa, Lagos, the Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, disclosed that the agency has also evacuated over 77 truckloads of illicit and counterfeit drugs.

According to her, out of the 77 truckloads, 27 were from Idumota while Onitsha and Aba recorded 30 and 20 respectively.

Adeyeye revealed that a total of 3,027 shops were closed in Idumota, 4,000 shops shut in Onitsha with the operation still only 20 per cent complete, and another 4,000 in Osisioma in Aba.

She said: “We found vaccines that are not supposed to be stored outside the refrigerator. We found controlled substances and condoms that are supposed to have been destroyed since 2022. We found products donated by USAID. We found Antiretrovirals for free use.

“We found tramadol, container loads of analgin that had been banned in Nigeria before my time. How did it get into the country or market? We have found machines that they are using to change the dates of drugs that are supposed to have expired in 2022 or 2023.

They will change it to 2028 and people will take and keep not getting well.”

She said the evacuated drugs are running into trillions.

She explained that the operation, which has already spanned over three weeks, was made possible with support from the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN).