Judges sentence unlicensed drug sellers to prison amid pharmacists' warnings of a counterfeit medication epidemic

n n

… Hails landmark judgments

n

By Chioma Obinna

n

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, on Monday applauded two landmark Federal High Court judgments convicting operators of illegal pharmaceutical facilities, describing the rulings as a major breakthrough in the fight against fake drugs and quackery in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

n

The society said the judgments delivered by the Federal High Courts in Ibadan and Calabar have strengthened pharmacy jurisprudence and sent a strong warning to operators of unlicensed pharmaceutical premises across the country.

n

In a press statement signed by its president, Pharm. Ayuba Ibrahim Tanko, FPSN, the society commended the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, PCN, for sustaining enforcement actions against illegal drug operators despite growing challenges in the sector.

n

According to the PSN, the Federal High Court in Ibadan on May 26, 2026, sentenced an unregistered operator of a patent medicine shop, while another ruling by the Federal High Court in Calabar jailed the operator of an unregistered pharmacy alongside three others for operating an unlicensed pharmaceutical premises and engaging unqualified personnel to dispense drugs.

n

The society described the judgments as “historic”, insisting that they would strengthen public confidence in efforts to sanitise the drug distribution system in Nigeria.

n

“The PSN finds it extremely important to applaud recent impressive judicial pronouncements which enhance pharmacy jurisprudence.”

n

He warned that many illegal operators falsely claim to have received healthcare training in private hospitals and pharmacies, thereby endangering public safety through unlawful drug dispensing practices.

n

According to him, such activities violate several provisions of Nigeria’s pharmacy and drug laws, including the Fake Drug Act, which criminalises possession and sale of fake drugs as well as the sale of medicines in unauthorised locations such as markets, kiosks, motor parks and other unapproved premises.

n

“Section 2.2 of the Fake Drug Act is very unambiguous that the appropriate licensing authority is the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria,” he said.

n

The PSN president further raised concerns over what he described as widespread regulatory abuse in Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, alleging that some groups, with the backing of certain government officials, had unlawfully assumed powers to register pharmaceutical facilities in violation of the PCN Act 2022.

n

“The situation in Cross River and Akwa-Ibom States stinks to the high heavens because in recent years an obsessed group of miscreants have assumed regulatory powers,” he alleged.

n

Tanko argued that weak enforcement and poor penalties under existing laws had encouraged the proliferation of illegal pharmaceutical premises nationwide.

n

He claimed that while Nigeria currently has fewer than 50,000 registered pharmaceutical premises, unregistered outlets are estimated to exceed three million across the country.

n

The PSN also stressed that drug regulation falls under the Exclusive Legislative List because of its strategic importance to national health security.

n

“Drug matters remain an item on the executive list because of the sensitivity and strategic nature of drugs in the healthcare value chain.”

n

The society reiterated that every pharmaceutical premise, including hospital pharmacies, must be directly supervised by a superintendent pharmacist in line with provisions of the PCN Act 2022.

n

According to the PSN, superintendent pharmacists play critical roles in ensuring regulatory compliance, safe drug sourcing, patient counselling, staff supervision, inventory management and quality assurance.

n

The body warned public and private health institutions against allowing non-pharmacy departments to stock and dispense drugs unlawfully.

n

It also called on the National Assembly to urgently amend the Fake Drug Act to impose stricter penalties on offenders.

n

Tanko said, “Those who pervert the PCN Act 2022 and Section 2 of the Fake Drug Act in private and public facilities must be made to face justice.”

n

The PSN maintained that stronger regulation and stricter enforcement were essential to tackling fake drugs, protecting patients and restoring sanity in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector.

n n