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By Sunny A. David, Awka
Tragedy has struck at the Ogbogwu drug market in Onitsha, Anambra State, where at least five traders have lost their lives and several others hospitalized following a crackdown by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The traders claim that the NAFDAC raid, which occurred in February, is responsible for the deaths and hospitalizations.
During a protest at the market’s entrance gate, traders revealed that NAFDAC has been demanding a payment of two million naira each for profiling before allowing them to reopen their shops.
The traders also alleged that NAFDAC did not provide prior notice before the enforcement exercise.
The traders have released a statement denying NAFDAC’s claims that the seized goods were fake and substandard.
Instead, they claim that NAFDAC officials carted away registered goods worth billions of naira, including drugs from multinational companies.
The traders are calling for an investigation into the seized goods and demanding the immediate reopening of the market.
The situation has been exacerbated by NAFDAC’s alleged lies about the market’s reopening. The traders claim that the market remains under lock and key, despite NAFDAC’s assertions that it has been reopened since February.
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law has also weighed in on the issue, calling for an end to the NAFDAC siege on the Onitsha Drug Market and five other adjoining markets.
The Group has accused NAFDAC of encouraging corruption and unprofessionalism in the Nigerian military.
They call for immediate prosecution of those caught with suspected fake and substandard drugs, in conjunction with the present caretaker committee who collaborated with them to bring in those deadly drugs into the market.
The protest, by Concerned Genuine Members of Ogbogwu Drugs Market, also called for the resignation of the market’s caretaker committee and an investigation into the alleged actions of NAFDAC.
The traders reaffirmed their loyalty to the Federal and State governments, while highlighting the impact of the closures on local livelihoods.
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