By Tobias Ekirika, Onitsha
The leadership of the Onitsha Drug Market, popularly known as Ogbogwu Market at Bridge Head, Onitsha, has handed over more than 400 cartons of counterfeit, expired and substandard drugs valued at about ₦435 million to the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for destruction.
The handover, which took place on Monday, July 6, involved 192 confiscated items of falsified and substandard medicines voluntarily surrendered by traders as part of the market’s ongoing self-cleansing exercise.
Speaking during the ceremony, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the market, Mr. Chukwuleta Ndubisi, said the drugs were willingly submitted by traders between December 2025 and June 2026 following a collective resolve to rid the market of fake and adulterated pharmaceutical products.
Ndubisi said the exercise reflects the market leadership’s determination to restore confidence in the nation’s largest drug market and eliminate the circulation of dangerous medicines.
He commended members of the market taskforce and the executive committee for their unwavering support in the sanitisation campaign.
“The primary aim of my administration is to sanitise the drug market. I came with a revolution, and some traders believe I am causing inconvenience to them.
That is why they keep attacking me from different directions. Even now we are in court in Enugu, but thank God we are winning the battle,” he said.
Receiving the confiscated products on behalf of NAFDAC, the agency’s Deputy Director in charge of Investigation and Enforcement for the South-East and South-South zones, Mr. Omoyeni Tunji, praised the market leadership for working closely with the agency to combat the menace of counterfeit medicines.
He disclosed that the seized drugs would be transported to NAFDAC’s destruction site in Awka for proper disposal, while commending the agency’s leadership and the Federal Government for sustaining the nationwide fight against counterfeit and falsified drugs.
The latest handover marks another significant step in the ongoing efforts by NAFDAC and stakeholders in the pharmaceutical sector to safeguard public health by eliminating fake and expired medicines from circulation.
Tags: Onitsha Drug Market, NAFDAC, Counterfeit Drugs, Ogbogwu Market, Public Health
