The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Sokoto/Zamfara Area Command, has handed over unregistered pharmaceutical products valued at ₦5.8 million to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for investigation and further action.
The Acting Customs Area Controller, Deputy Comptroller Haliru Abdullahi, while speaking at the handover ceremony in Sokoto on Wednesday, said the drugs were intercepted by patrol teams along the Illela-Sokoto Road following credible intelligence adding that the seizure was part of efforts to prevent the circulation of unregistered medicines and protect public health.
TheFact Daily notes that the circulation of unregistered drugs and pharmaceutical products remains a public health concern in Nigeria. Despite regulatory efforts by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), medicines that have not received the required regulatory approval continue to enter the country’s supply chain through illegal imports, unauthorised distributors and unregulated markets.
The seized items comprised 360 packages of anti-cold drugs, 500 packages of amodiaquine, 140 packages of paracetamol and 100 packages of quinine, with a total Duty Paid Value of ₦5,804,062.06.
Abdullahi said the importation of unregistered pharmaceutical products violates Section 55 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and NAFDAC regulations. He warned smugglers that the command would not tolerate activities that endanger public health.
He commended the officers involved in the interception and acknowledged NAFDAC’s partnership with Customs in combating the circulation of unregistered products.
Receiving the seized drugs, NAFDAC’s Sokoto State Coordinator, AbduSalam Lawal, praised the collaboration, describing sustained cooperation between both agencies as crucial to protecting Nigerians from potentially harmful medicines. He pledged NAFDAC’s commitment to ensuring the products undergo the necessary regulatory processes.
