Drug dealers in the popular Gamboru Medicine Market in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State have raised the alarm over the resurgence of damaged drugs confiscated by NAFDAC in their market.
Recall that the Maiduguri drug market was devastated by the September 10 2023 flood that ravaged the state capital.
This was even as the dealers, calculated that drugs worth over N1 billion were destroyed by the floodwater.
After the incident, reports stated that some dealers in an attempt to reduce their losses, were sun-drying the soaked drugs.
However, acting on tips, NAFDAC, in collaboration with the Borno State Ministry of Health, inspected the market. In the process, warehouses, and homes of the dealers were raided and the damaged drugs confiscated.
This was even as agency described the contaminated drugs unsafe for consumption.
The drug dealers stated that the NAFDAC took the damaged drugs away.
However, months after the exercise, the dealers in the area alleged that strangers were peddling the same kind of drugs seized by the agency.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that some of the dealers reported the presence of those drugs in the market.
According to them, they were afraid some dealers may accept the drugs for sale. This is because, even during the inspection by NAFDAC, some insisted that the drugs were safe for consumption. But the officials insisted they were not.
PREMIUM TIMES quoted a drug dealer in the market as saying that, “Some people have come here trying to sell the same kind of drugs confiscated by the government,”
“But we refused to buy, and we did not ask where they got them, because it was not our business.”
Another dealer in the market made a similar claim.
PREMIUM TIMES also quoted another dealer who said, “Some retailers who buy from them also complained that new faces were approaching them with the damaged drugs.
“Some of my customers with small medicine stores came here and told me people were bringing them the kind of damaged drugs we earlier submitted to NAFDAC.
The President of the Nigerian Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers, Borno State chapter, Jibrin Bukar, expressed shock over the development.
According to Bukar, I participated in the inspection exercise with the officials. And confirmed that dealers handed over damaged drugs worth over N1 billion to NAFDAC.
However, he could not ascertain if the drugs were destroyed as promised by the agency.
He said, “NAFDAC took inventory of all the contaminated drugs. The drugs, worth over N1 billion, were taken away by NAFDAC. If this happened, I am just hearing it from you.”
However, the NAFDAC Borno State coordinator, Jamil Audu, said all the drugs confiscated from the market were destroyed last year.
He said, “I led a team to mop up all contaminated drugs at Gamboru, an area opposite the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and at Monday Market.
“I led another team that took all the drugs to Gombe, and that was where we destroyed everything. I was there throughout the exercise and I saw the drugs on fire until they completely burned down.”
According to him, the items burned that day were worth about N10 billion. And they included expired items that were willingly submitted by organizations and individuals from across the region.
Audu, however, urged the drug dealers and “other people” to report “suspicious movements” to the authorities.
source: Premium Times
Follow us for more news on our WhatsApp News Channels @
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaC505jB4hdZ5Yx9g82U