The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has raised concerns over threats to her life and the safety of agency staff.
She urged authorities to provide enhanced protection as they intensify the fight against counterfeit drugs.
Speaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday, Adeyeye disclosed that NAFDAC officials are constantly at risk while cracking down on fake and substandard pharmaceutical products nationwide.
She reiterated her call for the death penalty for individuals involved in the sale of counterfeit drugs, describing them as “merchants of death” who endanger millions of lives.
“Our officials have been targeted simply for doing their jobs,” she said. “One of our staff members in Kano had his child kidnapped because he refused to compromise. Luckily, the child escaped.”
Adeyeye revealed that the agency’s intensified enforcement recently led to the seizure of 87 truckloads of expired and substandard medical products, including antiretroviral drugs, condoms, and other compromised supplies.
The large-scale crackdown at major drug markets in Lagos, Onitsha, and Aba resulted in the confiscation of fake drugs valued at over N1 trillion—the biggest seizure in NAFDAC’s history.
Despite these achievements, she lamented the personal cost of the job, noting that she now requires constant police protection.
“I have two policemen living with me in Abuja and Lagos. I don’t have a life anymore. I can’t go anywhere without escorts. That’s not how I want to live, but I have no choice,” she stated.