The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it has arrested some suspected fakers of its registration numbers in Lagos and Edo states. The agency made the disclosure on Saturday during a press conference organized by the Director Investigation and Enforcement, Kingsley Ejiofor on behalf of the Acting Director-General of NAFDAC, Yetunde Oluremi Oni.
Ejiofor stated that the arrests followed an intelligence report by the agency's Pharmacovigilance and Post-Marketing Surveillance Directorate. He explained that the enforcement team of the agency promptly raided the identified facilities suspected to be faking registration numbers for a number of companies and made the arrest.
He further disclosed that though some of the suspects insisted that the registration numbers were duly issued by the agency, further investigation revealed that they were fake.
“During interrogation, one of the suspects arrested in the company claimed that the product was duly registered with NAFDAC and even tendered registration certificate to the investigators. But further investigation revealed that the NAFDAC registration certificate was fake."
“Mr. Yahaya, in collaboration with two others, Mr. Abubakar Ibrahim a.k.a Lamido and Idris Adamu (Prime Suspect), Mr. Idris Adamu, based in Sokoto, was said to have designed the NAFDAC certificate using a computer, printed and way billed it to Mr. Abubakar Ibrahim, a.k.a Lamido, in Kaduna, who filled all necessary information and signed. He further confessed to have received N100, 000.00 from the N150, 000.00 given by the client”.
On the other arrest, he stated that a clinical raid by investigation and enforcement officers and Federal Task Force on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Food at Benin, the Edo state capital as well as Warri in Delta state led to the arrest of other suspects.
He further hinted that investigation was still ongoing to unravel and apprehend other suspects that may still be at large.
