No fewer than 572 pharmacies, patent medicine stores and illegal medicine outlets have been sealed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria across Plateau State.
The outlets were shut for various violations of pharmaceutical regulations, including cooking inside drug outlets, illegal clinical practice and unauthorised access to controlled medicines.
The PCN’s Head of Department, Enforcement, Dr Suleiman Chiroma, disclosed this at a press conference in Jos on Friday at the end of a four-day enforcement exercise.
Chiroma, who spoke on behalf of the Registrar/CEO of the Council, Ibrahim Ahmed, said the operation was carried out in line with the Council’s mandate under the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Act No. 31 of 2022.
He explained that the exercise was part of efforts to enforce the National Drug Distribution Guidelines developed by the Federal Government to address Nigeria’s “chaotic drug distribution system.”
“The major goal of the NDDG is to ensure drug distribution through approved channels, from the point of manufacture or importation to the end user.”
“The ongoing enforcement initiative is systematically disengaging non-professional actors from the pharmaceutical supply chain and remedying deficiencies in storage infrastructure. This intervention is fundamental to the eradication of substandard and falsified medicinal products,” he said.
The enforcement team visited Jos South, Jos North, Mangu, Shendam, Barkin Ladi, Qua’an Pan and Bassa Local Government Areas.
Chiroma said a total of 778 premises were inspected, comprising 199 pharmacies, 499 patent medicine stores and 80 illegal outlets.
“Consequently, 572 premises were sealed, including 120 pharmacies, 372 patent medicine stores, and 80 illegal outlets. In addition, five compliance directives were issued,” he said.
Describing the findings as alarming, Chiroma noted that 60 per cent of the pharmacies inspected were sealed.
“Of the 199 pharmacies visited, 60 percent were sealed. This finding reflects a deeply concerning standard of pharmaceutical practice within the state and underscores the need for the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria to intensify its regulatory efforts in Plateau State,” he said.
The Council also raised concerns over the dominance of unqualified medicine outlets in the state.
“It was further observed that only 26 percent of the total premises inspected across the state were pharmacies, while the remainder comprised Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) and illegally operated outlets,” he said.
Infractions uncovered during the exercise included “the unacceptable practice of cooking within pharmaceutical and patent medicine premises, widespread unauthorized clinical practice, unlawful storage and dispensing of medicines beyond the approved legal scope, unauthorized access to poison cupboards by non-pharmacists, and the illegal operation of several premises, particularly by prospective vendors.”
Other violations documented during the exercise included “failure to produce valid licences or evidence of registration upon lawful demand, operating illegal premises, and willful obstruction of duly authorised pharmaceutical inspectors from discharging their duties.”
Chiroma warned that the violations posed serious threats to public safety.
“Such practices pose grave risks to public health and national security, as controlled medicines may be diverted into the hands of criminal elements and insurgents,” he said.
Despite the high number of closures, the Council noted that the prevalence of illegal outlets was relatively low.
“Of the 778 premises visited, 10 percent were operating illegally, and these accounted for 14 percent of all premises sealed during the exercise. This indicates a relatively low prevalence of illegal premises in Plateau State,” Chiroma said.
He, however, lamented poor compliance among registered pharmacies.
“Only 40 percent of the pharmacies inspected were in good standing, a figure that remains unsatisfactory. A significant number of pharmacies were found to have incomplete registration status,” he stated.
Chiroma stressed that the PCN “remains unwavering in its statutory mandate to safeguard integrity within the pharmaceutical practice environment. All premises engaged in the handling of medicines shall be subject to rigorous and sustained regulatory oversight.”
The Council urged members of the public to patronise only licensed medicine outlets.