The Nigerian Customs Service, Area 2 Command in Onne, Rivers State, in collaboration with the office of the National Security Adviser, has destroyed approximately 60 containers of substandard and illegally imported pharmaceutical products valued at billions of naira.
The destruction exercise was carried out on Wednesday at the Rivers State Waste Management dump site, located along the Port Harcourt Airport Road.
Addressing journalists at the scene, Assistant Controller General of Customs from the Enforcement, Inspection, and Investigation Department, Timi Bomodi, described the operation as a multi-agency effort coordinated by a committee set up by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
“It is a committee that was set up by the National Security Adviser comprising all other regulatory agencies,” said Bomodi, who also chairs the committee for the destruction of illegally imported pharmaceuticals. “And so we are here today to carry out the main objective of the assignment, which is the destruction. The mandate given to this committee was to identify, isolate, evacuate, and destroy pharmaceuticals that were illegally imported into this country.”
Bomodi disclosed that the committee was destroying about 64 units of 40-foot containers in Port Harcourt, with an estimated market value in the hundreds of billions of naira.
He assured that the operation was being executed with utmost diligence to send a clear warning to those involved in such illegal activities.
“As it is today, we are executing it without fear or favour, and sending a clear message to all those that are engaged in this kind of practice that they should desist,” he emphasized.
He further noted that the substances posed serious risks to public health and security, stating, “As we know, these pharmaceuticals pose a very grave danger, not only to the health and well-being of Nigerians but also to the security of Nigerians.”
Bomodi highlighted that some of these substances had been linked to criminal activities.
“Some of these substances have been identified as a means of sustenance for criminals, kidnappers, bandits, and so on, and they’ve used these illegally imported pharmaceuticals to facilitate their illicit conduct and behaviour,” he added.
He revealed that the seized containers were confiscated over time through the joint efforts of the NCS and other agencies such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
According to him, these agencies work together at the ports to safeguard the nation’s security architecture.
“So it is a joint exercise and of course the Office of the National Security Adviser is coordinating this exercise to ensure that we do a thorough job in regards to evacuation, isolation, and destruction,” he explained.
On arrests related to the illegal importation, Bomodi said investigations were ongoing.
“There are some arrests, but they are still under investigation. So I can’t give you a definite figure for the total number of persons arrested. There are cases in court; some have been prosecuted,” he said.
He added that many of the importers used fictitious documents to cover their tracks, but efforts were being made to bring those involved to justice.
Representing the National Security Adviser at the event, Commodore Kelechi Ogbonna commended the committee’s work and reiterated the importance of ensuring that the seized items do not make it into society.
He stressed that the exercise was part of a broader strategy to protect public health and enhance national security.
“The objectives of the committee is to identify the locations of these substandard, fake and illicit pharmaceuticals, as well as narcotics, such as tramadol and codeine which serve as substances of abuse and also enhancers for the perpetuation of such nefarious activities as banditry and other terrorist activities,” Ogbonna said.
He noted that the committee had identified various locations for the seized items, including Apapa Port, Tincan Island Port, Onne Port, Calabar Port, Lagos, and Aminu Kano International Airport.
“The aim is for these items not to find their way by any means back to the society. So the NSA is emphatic that these items must be destroyed, because these items, if allowed to get to the society, will pose a lot of health/security risk to Nigerians, and by extension, national security risk,” he said.
Ogbonna recalled that the destruction exercise began in Lagos, where over 70 containers were destroyed in phase one. “Phase two will continue subsequently because Lagos has over a hundred containers of these items.
Today we are beginning with the destruction of the items here in Port Harcourt. Right now we have over 60 containers,” he explained.
He expressed satisfaction with the progress so far, adding that the multi-agency approach reflected the government’s determination to combat such illegal activities.
“I am very satisfied because the multi-agency approach the NSA adopted is to show of the government’s approach towards curbing such illegalities. Additionally, the cooperation from the Lagos State Government and the people of Lagos State, as well as the Rivers State Government, have indicated the whole-of-society approach which is the mantra of the Federal Government of Nigeria towards curbing and fighting such illegalities in the country,” Ogbonna noted.
