The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has closed the Gomboru drug market in Maiduguri, Borno State, due to illicit drug activities.
Among these practices is the washing and sun-drying of contaminated drugs for resale amid the devastating floods that have impacted the region.
The floods were triggered by the rupture of the Alau dam on the Ngadda River, located 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Maiduguri. The severe flooding has resulted in at least 30 fatalities and displaced around 400,000 residents from their homes.
In a statement on its X account, NAFDAC announced the closure of the drug market after floodwaters submerged it, leading to contamination of the drugs.
“Following the recent flooding in Maiduguri that inundated the Gomboru drug market, where contaminated drugs were washed and sun-dried for resale, the @DGatNAFDAC ordered the immediate closure of the market to facilitate a comprehensive removal of these compromised drugs,” the agency stated.
According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), spokesman Ezekiel Manzo reported that the death toll stands at 30. “The flood has affected around 40 percent of the entire city, forcing people from their homes and scattering them everywhere,” he added.