Medicine: The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 383 pharmaceutical premises across Ogun State for violating regulatory standards, warning that the proliferation of illegal drug outlets poses serious dangers to public health and could undermine national security.
The enforcement action followed a four-day statewide operation that inspected 738 pharmaceutical premises across 11 local government areas. The exercise was conducted on the directive of the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Council, Pharm. Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, as part of efforts to strengthen compliance with pharmaceutical regulations.
Addressing journalists in Abeokuta on Friday, the Head of the Council’s Enforcement Department, Suleiman Chiroma, said inspectors visited 277 pharmacies, 288 Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor (PPMV) stores and 173 unregistered or illegal outlets.
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According to him, 383 premises were eventually sealed for various infractions, comprising 123 pharmacies, 87 patent medicine stores and all 173 illegal outlets identified during the operation. Three compliance directives were also issued to operators found with minor regulatory deficiencies.
The enforcement exercise covered Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, Odeda, Obafemi-Owode, Ifo, Ado-Odo/Ota, Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode, Ikenne, Ijebu North-East and Ewekoro Local Government Areas.
Chiroma listed the major offences uncovered during the operation to include operating without a valid PCN licence, poor medicine storage conditions, unauthorised access to controlled medicines, obstruction of regulatory inspectors, cooking within pharmaceutical premises and the illegal training of apprentices.
He warned that such practices expose patients to significant health risks while creating opportunities for controlled medicines to be diverted into criminal networks.
“These practices pose a grave threat to public health and constitute risks to national security through the potential diversion of controlled medicines into criminal networks.”
The enforcement chief added that medicines dispensed by unqualified persons and drugs stored under unsuitable conditions could contribute to treatment failure, antimicrobial resistance and preventable deaths, increasing healthcare costs and weakening public confidence in the nation’s healthcare system.
The council disclosed that illegal premises accounted for about 23 per cent of all facilities inspected, with many of the unregistered outlets located outside the Abeokuta metropolis. Chiroma noted that these illegal facilities represented 45 per cent of all premises sealed during the operation.
He stressed that all illegal premises identified during the exercise were shut in line with the provisions of the law.
Compliance levels varied across the sector. According to the council, only 56 per cent of pharmacies inspected met all regulatory requirements, while Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor outlets recorded a higher compliance rate of 70 per cent.
The exercise was carried out under the provisions of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2022, which empowers the council to regulate pharmacy practice, license pharmaceutical premises and enforce professional standards nationwide.
Chiroma urged Nigerians to purchase medicines only from pharmacies and medicine stores displaying valid and current PCN licences, noting that licensed premises are required to exhibit their certificates prominently for public verification.
He reaffirmed the council’s commitment to sustained enforcement, warning that operators who continue to violate pharmaceutical regulations would face appropriate sanctions.
The latest operation forms part of the PCN’s ongoing nationwide campaign to sanitise Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector by eliminating illegal drug outlets, curbing the circulation of fake and substandard medicines, and ensuring that only qualified professionals dispense medicines to the public.
