NAFDAC Burns ₦59m Expired US-Donated Drugs in Rivers

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed a consignment of expired donated medicines valued at about ₦59 million at the Igwuruta dump site along the Eneka-Igwuruta Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The products, which arrived in a 40-foot container from the United States via the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) Area 1 Port in Port Harcourt, included antidepressants, anti-ulcer medicines, analgesics, drugs for managing hypertension, and various medical consumables. Officials said the consignment had been intercepted earlier by NAFDAC inspectors working with Nigeria Customs Service personnel and held pending safe disposal.

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NAFDAC’s South-South Zonal Director, Chukwuma Oligbu, who spoke at the destruction exercise, described the action as a clear demonstration of the agency’s resolve under Director-General Professor Mojisola Adeyeye to shield Nigerians from medicines that no longer meet standards of quality, safety and effectiveness. While acknowledging that genuine donated medicines play an important role in supporting healthcare delivery—especially for vulnerable and underserved communities—Oligbu stressed that expired or unsuitable products must be removed from the supply chain without delay and destroyed properly.

“These expired donated drugs were shipped into the country from the United States through NPA Area 1 Port, Port Harcourt, before they were flagged by eagle-eyed NAFDAC inspectors at the Port in collaboration with Customs officials,” he said. “The drugs worth about ₦59 million were put on hold until their subsequent destruction. It further demonstrates our collective resolve to prevent the diversion, misuse and unauthorised distribution of expired, substandard or otherwise unfit medical products.”

The exercise was conducted in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other sister agencies, including security personnel from the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army who provided cover for the operation. Officials noted that allowing expired medicines to remain in circulation poses serious public-health risks, including treatment failure, potential toxicity and erosion of public confidence in the healthcare system.

The interception itself dates back to a joint examination in June 2026 at the Port Harcourt port, where Customs and NAFDAC officers examined the container and discovered the expired pharmaceuticals. The items were formally handed over to NAFDAC in late July for regulatory processing and eventual destruction.

The agency has repeatedly emphasised that inter-agency cooperation remains critical to protecting Nigeria’s pharmaceutical supply chain from substandard, falsified or expired products.

Oligbu assured the public that NAFDAC will continue to intensify inspections, surveillance, monitoring, enforcement and public education across the South-South zone to ensure only safe and effective medicines reach patients.