By Nnenna Nwankwo
Port Harcourt: The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed expired medicines and medical consumables worth about ₦59 million intercepted at a port in Rivers State.
The products, which included antidepressants, anti-ulcer drugs, painkillers and hypertension medicines, were donated drugs shipped into Nigeria from the United States.
NAFDAC said its officials, working with the Nigeria Customs Service, intercepted the expired products at the Nigeria Ports Authority Area 1 Port in Port Harcourt before they could enter the healthcare supply chain.
The drugs were destroyed on Monday at the Igwuruta dump site along the Eneka-Igwuruta Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Speaking during the exercise, NAFDAC Director, South-South Zone, Chukwuma Oligbu, said the destruction was part of the agency’s efforts to protect Nigerians from medicines that could pose serious health risks.
He said donated medicines remained important to healthcare delivery, particularly for vulnerable and underserved communities, but stressed that expired or unsuitable products must be removed from circulation and destroyed safely.
“Once such products become expired or otherwise unsuitable for use, it is imperative that they are promptly removed from circulation and safely destroyed,” Oligbu said.
According to him, the products included antidepressants, anti-ulcer medicines, analgesics, hypertension drugs and various medical consumables.
Oligbu explained that the medicines were placed on hold after NAFDAC inspectors, in collaboration with Customs officials, detected them at the Port Harcourt port.
He warned that allowing expired medicines to re-enter circulation could lead to misuse, diversion or inappropriate administration, with potentially dangerous consequences for public health.
He said the seizure and destruction also demonstrated the determination of NAFDAC and other agencies to prevent the distribution of expired, substandard or otherwise unfit medical products in the country.
Oligbu noted that the South-South region required strong regulatory surveillance because of its strategic seaports, commercial centres, healthcare institutions and extensive trading activities.
He assured residents that NAFDAC would continue to intensify inspection, surveillance, monitoring, enforcement and public enlightenment across the region.
The NAFDAC official commended the Nigeria Customs Service, sister agencies, development partners and other stakeholders for their cooperation in intercepting the products and ensuring their safe destruction.
He said sustained collaboration remained critical to strengthening Nigeria’s pharmaceutical supply chain and protecting citizens from unsafe medical products.