The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 505 illegal and non-compliant drug premises in Cross River State, revealing that almost half of the medicine outlets inspected during a statewide enforcement exercise were operating outside its regulatory framework.
The council disclosed this on Friday in Calabar, while briefing journalists on the outcome of a four-day enforcement operation conducted across 10 local government areas of the state.
According to the PCN, 602 drug premises were inspected, with 48.3 per cent found to be operating illegally or in violation of regulatory standards.
The Registrar of the council, Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, represented by Suleiman Chiroma, said the exercise uncovered 291 illegal drug outlets, all of which were immediately sealed.
He added that the enforcement team also shut down 54 pharmacies and 160 patent medicine stores for failing to comply with the council’s regulations and establishment guidelines.
“In the inspection exercise, we uncovered 291 illegal outlets. All of them were totally sealed on the spot, along with 54 pharmacies and 160 patent medicine stores found in breach of regulations and establishment guidelines,” Chiroma said.
He cited the recent conviction of Mrs. Ezea Kamchekwube, who operated two unlicensed drug shops in Calabar and was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment by the Federal High Court, as evidence that the council’s enforcement efforts now attract criminal consequences beyond administrative penalties.
Chiroma disclosed that 13 compliance directives were also issued to operators to enable them correct identified infractions.
He expressed concern over the level of compliance among licensed operators, noting that only 42.5 percent of registered pharmacies inspected fully complied with regulatory standards, while just 26.8 per cent of patent medicine vendors met the required conditions.
According to him, the violations uncovered included operating without valid licences, poor storage conditions, unauthorised access to controlled medicines and the unsupervised training of apprentices.
He warned that such practices could allow diverted medicines to find their way into criminal networks.
“These premises are operated by quacks and untrained persons who are not accountable to any statutory authority,” Chiroma said.
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The PCN urged residents to purchase medicines only from outlets displaying valid council licences, warning that drugs dispensed by untrained persons could lead to treatment failure, antimicrobial resistance, avoidable deaths and increased healthcare costs.
Chiroma said the enforcement exercise aligns with the Federal Government’s Universal Health Coverage agenda, stressing that access to safe and quality-assured medicines is essential to achieving the programme’s objectives.
He commended residents of Cross River State for cooperating with enforcement teams and vowed that monitoring would remain continuous, with immediate sanctions for operators found violating the law.
The council said the outcome of the operation sends a clear warning to illegal medicine dealers that the crackdown on fake and unregistered drug outlets in Cross River State will continue.
