Traders at the Ogbo-Ogwu Bridgehead Drug Market in Onitsha, Anambra State, took to the streets on Tuesday to protest the continued closure of their market by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The aggrieved traders, under the group Concerned and Genuine Members of Ogbo-Ogwu Drug Market, expressed deep frustration over what they described as “untold hardship and financial burdens” caused by the market’s prolonged shutdown.
With over 2,000 traders participating in the protest, the demonstrators marched from Oshogbo Park to the River Niger Bridge and back, carrying placards with messages of dissent.
The traders claimed that at least five of their members have died due to depression and hunger since the market’s closure, and many others have been hospitalized.
Ifeanyi Chinedu, the National Convener of the group, said, “We challenge the Federal Government to set up a high-powered panel of inquiry to investigate the goods carted away in over 60 trailer loads with the aim of ascertaining the veracity of claims made by NAFDAC.”
The traders allege that NAFDAC officials are demanding a N2 million payment from each trader before the market can reopen, a claim NAFDAC has denied.
“NAFDAC has mandated that each shop owner pays N2 million to them before opening the market; this is ridiculous. We reject in its entirety the criminal fines imposed on us by NAFDAC,” said Chinedu.
Traders also protested NAFDAC’s seizure of what they insist are genuine drugs, with claims that international brands such as those from the USA, Germany, and Pakistan were wrongfully confiscated.
“The drugs that were carted away are genuine and registered,” said one trader, Uchechukwu Ola.
In response, Martins Iluyomade, NAFDAC’s Zonal Director for the South-East, dismissed the allegations, stating that the agency’s enforcement actions were carried out within the legal framework from February 10 to March 5, 2025.
“The bulk volumes of narcotics and other medicines that are not approved because of their harmful effects were confiscated from the market,” Iluyomade said.
As tensions rise, the traders are calling for the immediate reopening of the market and the prosecution of those involved in illegal activities. The Federal Government has yet to make a statement regarding the ongoing dispute.