The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, or NAFDAC, has been urged by the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB, to restore items that were seized from vendors at the Ogbo Ogwu Drug Market in Onitsha, Anambra State.

In a statement released by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB claimed that NAFDAC agents raided the market at midnight, shut down CCTV cameras, broke into stores, and seized items, all while claiming to be targeting counterfeit medications.

The group also attacked the method of the operation, criticizing the agency’s approach and transparency.

IPOB reaffirmed its opposition to the selling of fake medications, but expressed concern about the purported confiscation of traders’ items while they were not present, the disabling of security cameras, and the absence of proof that all confiscated products were counterfeit.

The group asked NAFDAC a number of questions, such as: Why was the operation carried out at midnight? What caused the blocking of CCTV cameras? Where is the evidence that the confiscated drugs were fake? Why did both guilty and innocent traders suffer from the market’s complete closure?

IPOB urged on NAFDAC to adopt a more professional and transparent approach to combating fake medications, suggesting that the agency establish permanent offices in drug markets to ensure adequate regulation rather than conducting surprise raids.

In order to move the drug market to the new Oba Drug Market and guarantee that only authorized and certified dealers are permitted to operate, the statement also called for cooperation between NAFDAC and the Anambra State Government.