The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control said it destroyed over N120bn worth of seized products from July to December 2024, in the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory.

This was as the agency assured Nigerians that adequate measures had been put in place to safeguard their health before, during and after the Yuletide season.

This was contained in the Yuletide message of the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, to Nigerians, in a statement signed by the agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, on Sunday.

Adeyeye emphasised the need to eat safe and stay safe during the festive period.

She reiterated the need for Nigerians to always procure food and drinks in outlets with identifiable addresses and locations to ease the agency’s track and trace obligation, adding that medicines and packaged food products that do not have NAFDAC number should be avoided. And when a product is too cheap, its most likely to be compromised.

Adeyeye said officers of the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate would continue the ongoing mop-up of substandard and falsified medicines and unwholesome food items from the markets across the country.

“Officials of the Agencys Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, Pharmacovigilance Directorate and Post-Marketing Surveillance Directorate are jointly on the field mopping up falsified medicines, fake wines and drinks and unwholesome food products that could endanger the health of the people during the festive season.

“The agency had stormed supermarkets in the big cities across the country such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Aba, Ibadan, Kaduna, and the FCT, to apprehend manufacturers and merchants of fake drugs and unwholesome foods, while products running into billions of naira have been confiscated in the last three months of renewed enforcement.

“On Wednesday, December 11, 2024, the agency destroyed expired, unregistered drugs worth N11bn in Ibadan, Oyo State. In November, the Agency seized N300m worth of fake medicines during a raid of Tyre Village, Trade Fair Complex, Lagos State. Officers of the agency also busted counterfeit alcohol packaging centres and seized items worth N2bn in Lagos. This followed reports of illegal revalidation of expired alcoholic beverages at the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos,” it noted.

It said the agency also confiscated bags of repackaged and expired rice worth N5bn, and sealed a factory and eight shops where counterfeit rice are packaged and distributed in Nasarawa State.

It added that over 1,600 bags of counterfeit rice worth N5bn were confiscated in Wuse and Garki markets, Abuja.

Adeyeye maintained that only safe, quality, and wholesome food products should be available to Nigerians during the Yuletide and beyond.

She specifically instructed that those counterfeiting popular brands of rice should be arrested and their products removed from the market.

It stated that a total of 150 shops at Eziukwu Market in Aba, a suburb of Abia State, were shut down following an operation by the agency.

“As the mop-up operation was going on in the FCT and Nasarawa State, NAFDAC was carrying out a two-day operation in the Aba market on December 16 and 17, 2024. During the operation, the agency uncovered large-scale production and distribution of fake and expired goods, including beverages, carbonated drinks, wines, spirits, vegetable oils, and revalidated food items such as noodles, powdered milk, and yoghurt with a market value of N5bn.

“The agency on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, also destroyed expired, unregistered, counterfeit, and smuggled products valued at N10,991,458,374.60.

The destroyed items, collected from five states in the South-West Zone (excluding Lagos) and Kwara State in the North Central Zone due to its proximity, were incinerated in Ibadan.

“In total, over N120bn worth of seized products were destroyed by the agency in six months (July-December) in the six geo-political zones and FCT.

“The DG, however, stated that the agency would not rest on its oars until the merchants of death are forced out of operation, warning that the agency would make it hard for them to operate freely and endanger the health of innocent consumers. The coming year will be tough for the people that prioritise money over the well-being of their fellow human beings by compromising quality of medicines and food products in the country,” the statement noted.

The Association of Urological Surgeons in Nigeria, NAUS, has expressed concern about the recent and continued circulation in the public space of what it labelled as misinformation on social media and mainstream media regarding the link between frequent ejaculation and the risk of prostate cancer.

In a position statement on “Risk of Prostate Cancer and Frequency of Ejaculation” obtained by Vanguard, the executive committee of the NAUS – a professional organisation dedicated to advancing the field of urology in Nigeria – noted that while some studies have explored a potential correlation between increased ejaculation frequency and a reduced risk of prostate cancer, the evidence remains inconclusive, and more research is needed to fully understand the connection.

The statement – CAC/TT/No. 125351 – dated December 16, 2024, and jointly signed by the Association’s President, Prof. N.K. Dakum, and Secretary General, Prof. Muhammed Ahmed, cautioned that at this time, it is important to interpret the existing evidence carefully, and frequent ejaculation should not be seen as a guaranteed way to prevent prostate cancer.

The Association said that as a body of experts, it had a sense of duty to clarify the claims to prevent the spread of misleading information regarding ejaculation and prostate cancer risk

The statement reads: The Association of Urological Surgeons, Nigeria (NAUS) has observed with concern the recent and continued dissemination of information on social media platforms and even the main stream media in Nigeria regarding the relationship between sex/frequent ejaculation and the risk of prostate cancer.

“There is a need, as professionals in the field to make a statement in that regard in order to avoid the perpetuation of often misleading and inaccurate statements or conclusions.

“We, therefore, wish to state that while there are studies suggesting a potential association between frequent ejaculation and reduced prostate cancer risk, the evidence is not yet conclusive, and more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between the two.

NAFDAC has warned Nigerians about the sale and distribution of fake Paludex tablets and suspensions across the country.

The agency announced on its X account (formerly Twitter) that fake Paludex Artemether/Lumefantrine tablets (80mg/480mg) were falsely labelled as being made by Impact Pharmaceutical Ltd, located at Standard Industrial Layout, Emene, Enugu State.

It added that these fake drugs are being distributed by MD Life Sciences Ltd, also based in Emene Industrial Layout, Enugu.

NAFDAC further revealed the discovery of counterfeit Paludex dry powder for oral suspension (180mg/1080mg), meant for children.

NAFDAC stated that the counterfeit Paludex oral suspension was falsely labelled as being manufactured by Impact Pharmaceutical Ltd, located at No. 33A/33B Standard Industrial Layout, Enugu, and Ecomed Pharma Limited in Ogun State, and marketed by MD Life Sciences Ltd.

The agency revealed that laboratory tests conducted by a WHO-prequalified laboratory in Germany showed that both products contained zero per cent of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API). Additional tests conducted by NAFDAC also confirmed the absence of any API in the products.

The statement further disclosed that the fake products are not listed in NAFDAC’s database of registered drugs, and the NAFDAC registration numbers displayed on the packaging are fake.

NAFDAC emphasized that authentic Artemether/Lumefantrine tablets or suspensions are a combination of two active ingredients, Artemether and Lumefantrine, used for treating acute, uncomplicated malaria in both adults and children.

“The illegal marketing of medicines or counterfeit medicines poses a great risk to the health of people.

“By not complying with the regulatory provisions, the safety, quality, and efficacy of the products are not guaranteed.

“Also, poor-quality pediatric formulations or medicines in general have the potential of causing treatment failure when the API content is below the prescribed dose,” it said.

NAFDAC said that all its zonal directors and state coordinators have been directed to carry out surveillance and mop up the fake products within their zones and states.

It also implored distributors, healthcare providers, and patients to exercise caution and vigilance within the supply chain to avoid distribution, administration, and use of the products.

The agency said that all medical products must be obtained from authorised/licensed suppliers.

“The products’ authenticity and physical condition should be carefully checked.

“Anyone in possession of any of the above-mentioned products is advised to immediately discontinue the sale or use and submit stock to the nearest NAFDAC office.

The agency advised the public, especially those who have used any of the products to seek immediate medical advice from a qualified healthcare professional.

It also advised healthcare professionals and consumers to report any suspicion of substandard and falsified medicines to the nearest NAFDAC office, NAFDAC on 0800-162-3322 or via email: [email protected].

In another development, NAFDAC also identified Eziukwu Market, also known as Cemetery Market in Aba, Abia State, as a major hub for producing and distributing fake and substandard products.

This discovery followed an operation led by NAFDAC’s South-East Zonal Director, Martins Iluyomade, on Tuesday.

During the operation, Iluyomade described the market as a centre for large-scale production and distribution of counterfeit goods, comparing its impact to “weapons of mass destruction.” Despite earlier raids, including a major one in December 2023, the illegal activities have persisted.

Iluyomade expressed frustration that people continue to prioritize profits over public health and safety. He also pointed out that the market leaders had previously signed an agreement with NAFDAC during the last operation, promising to expose those involved in these illegal activities.

However, he stressed that the market’s leadership must now answer serious questions about their failure to stop the production and sale of fake products.