The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has issued a warning to social media influencer Martins Otse, known online as VeryDarkMan, over what it described as provocative and misleading statements.
The warning follows NAFDACโs recent enforcement activities in major open drug markets, including Bridge Head Market in Onitsha, Anambra State.
In a statement released on Monday, NAFDAC Director General Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye accused Otse of spreading misinformation that could incite public resistance to lawful regulatory actions. The agency raised concerns over a viral video in which the influencer alleged that NAFDAC officials demanded N700,000 from traders as a condition for reopening their shops.
Prof. Adeyeye said law enforcement agencies have been notified to investigate whether Otseโs actions violate the Cybercrime Act, considering the potential to spark unrest.
She emphasized that the enforcement operations were part of routine checks aimed at ensuring proper storage and sale of medicines in line with Nigerian regulations.
NAFDAC criticized what it described as coordinated efforts by some traders and their online allies to resist regulatory oversight through misinformation. The Director General accused them of trying to divert public attention from the dangers of distributing unsafe drugs and evading accountability.
Prof. Adeyeye called on the public to support NAFDACโs mission and reject inflammatory narratives that could endanger public health.
Reaffirming the agencyโs stance, Prof. Adeyeye stressed that NAFDAC will not be swayed by online campaigns or threats, and will continue working with law enforcement to prosecute those dealing in counterfeit or harmful medical products.
Excerpt:
โIn the meantime, what this perpetrator has done is that he has openly told his audience to defy the regulatory processes of NAFDAC following the enforcement operation carried out under the Office of the National Security Adviser,โ the DG said.
“All the warehouses, shops, and parking stores in the three Open Drug Markets did not meet the minimum requirementsโฆ More importantly, there was no proof of registrationโฆ a clear contravention/violation of the pertinent extant law of the federation.”
โIt is pertinent to note that the remaining few shops whose owners have refused to come forward for identification are the ones with outrightly banned narcotics according to our database. The cartel, along with their co-conspirators, are the ones creating incitements to divert attention from the real issues to escape the long arm of the law for the heinous crimes being committed against humanity.”
โAll law-abiding citizens are enjoined to go about their legitimate businesses while the merchants of death who are responsible for fuelling insecurity and peddling fake medicines in Nigeria will be fished out and dealt with by the law,โ she declared.
โNAFDAC will continue to ensure that all medical products โ medicines, vaccines, medical devices and others being used in Nigeria are of good quality, safe, and efficacious,โ she affirmed.
โWe will continue to provide assurances that these commodities are well monitored to avoid the deaths of pregnant women, and children, and to improve the quality of life and life expectancy of the citizenry while reducing the incidence of untimely deaths of adults living with chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes,โ she added.
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