Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has revealed that she is facing death threats due to her efforts to combat counterfeit and illicit drugs in Nigeria.
Adeyeye stated that she no longer has personal freedom and requires police protection 24/7, both in Abuja and Lagos.
Her staff members are also facing security threats, with one staff member’s son being kidnapped but fortunately escaping from his abductors.
The NAFDAC boss made these revelations at the Presidential Villa in Abuja during a media briefing on Wednesday.
She emphasized that the agency’s efforts to rid the country of fake and illicit drugs have led to a significant crackdown on drug markets across the country.
According to Adeyeye, the recent seizures in Onitsha, Aba, and Lagos markets are valued at approximately N1 trillion, making it one of the largest enforcement operations in NAFDAC’s history.
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The agency, she noted, seized 87 truckloads of banned, expired, and substandard medical products, including “USAID- and UNFPA-donated antiretroviral drugs and condoms.”
Adeyeye attributed the challenges faced by NAFDAC to the relentless efforts of the agency to combat counterfeit drugs. She cited the example of former NAFDAC Director-General, Professor Dora Akunyili, who faced similar threats and an assassination attempt in 2003 due to her campaigns against fake drugs.
The NAFDAC boss emphasised that the agency’s National Action Plan (NAP 2.0) 2023-2027 aims to eliminate counterfeit medicines, improve regulatory compliance, and safeguard public health. The recent exercise, which commenced on February 9, 2025, involved 1,100 security operatives and resulted in the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs.
As Adeyeye noted, “I told you about the attempted murder about six months ago. One of our staff in Kano, his child was kidnapped because the father was doing what he was supposed to do. Fortunately, the child escaped.
“For me, I have two policemen living in my house 24/7 in Abuja and Lagos. I don’t have a life. I cannot go anywhere without police, and to me, that is not my way of living. But I don’t have a choice because we have to save our country.”
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