The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, PCN, says it has shut down over 350 pharmacies and medicine stores in Jigawa State.
Director Enforcement, PCN, in Jigawa State, Pharmacist Stephen Esumobi disclosed this during a press briefing held at federal Secretariat Dutse, the state capital.
He said the development followed a patrol by the enforcement team to streamline the drug distribution system in Nigeria.
According to him, “the aim is to ensure that all medicines remain safe, effective and of good quality as they pass through different stakeholders at various levels of the drug distribution chain until they get to the consumers.”
Esumobi pointed out that various premises were operating illegally as they were never registered by the PCN in Jigawa State.
He noted that many patent medicine shops also stocked large quantities of medicines that were outside their approved drug list and also far beyond their scope.
The Director of enforcement said the storage conditions in most of the premises visited were found to be inadequate, thus exposing products to degradation.
He added that illegal medicine dealers were also found to engage in the sale of substances of abuse to members of the public, aggravating the social and security challenges emanating from the illicit use of those medicines.
He said the local government areas visited include Dutse, Hadejia, Birnin Kudu, Gwaram, Ringim, Taura, Birniwa, and Guri.
Others included Mallam Madori, Jahun, Kiyawa, Garki, Gumel, Kazaure, Roni, Gagarawa, Buji, Kafin Hausa, Kaugama, and Auyo.
He added that at the end of the exercise, 457 premises were visited by the PCN team, noting that this was made up of 19 pharmacies, 178 patent medicine shops, and 260 illegal premises.
He said a total of 355 premises were sealed, which include 8 pharmacies, 87 patent medicine shops, and 260 illegal medicine shops.
The team leader said all the affected pharmacies and shops were sealed for offenses ranging from unauthorized sale of substances of abuse, wholesale premises engaging in retail, sale of medicines without documentation, operating without registration with PCN, among others.