The Onitsha Drug Market, popularly known as Ogbogwu Market at Bridge Head, Onitsha, has handed over counterfeit, expired and substandard drugs valued at about N435 million to the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for destruction.
The drugs, comprising 192 different items and over 400 cartons of adulterated pharmaceutical products, were voluntarily surrendered by traders as part of efforts to sanitise the market and eliminate fake medicines from circulation, reports Daily Independent.
Speaking during the handover ceremony today, Monday, July 6, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the market, Mr Chukwuleta Ndubisi, disclosed that the products were recovered between December 2025 and June 2026 through coordinated market surveillance and internal efforts by traders and market authorities.
Ndubisi explained that traders willingly submitted the counterfeit products following a collective resolve to rid the market of fake and substandard medicines that pose serious threats to public health.
According to him, sanitising the market remains the primary objective of his administration despite resistance from some individuals.
“My primary aim as chairman is to sanitise the drug market. I came with a revolution, and while some traders believe the reforms are inconveniencing them and have continued to oppose me from different angles, we are winning the battle,” he stated.
He commended members of the market taskforce and executives for their support and commitment in combating the circulation of fake drugs.
Receiving the items on behalf of NAFDAC, Deputy Director in charge of Investigation and Enforcement for the South-East and South-South regions, Mr. Omoyeni Tunji, applauded the market leadership and traders for supporting the agency’s fight against counterfeit drugs.
Tunji disclosed that the seized products would be moved to NAFDAC’s dump site in Awka for destruction, stressing that the agency remains committed to protecting Nigerians from harmful and falsified pharmaceutical products.
He also praised the leadership of NAFDAC and the federal government for sustaining efforts aimed at eliminating counterfeit and substandard drugs across the country.
