The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 797 illegal and non-compliant medicine outlets across Kano State following a four-day enforcement exercise aimed at sanitising the state’s drug distribution system.
The enforcement operation, which covered 28 local government areas, uncovered widespread violations of pharmaceutical regulations, including the operation of unregistered premises and the sale of medicines outside the scope permitted by law.
The affected local government areas included Bichi, Tsanyawa, Gwarzo, Wudil, Gaya, Ajingi, Kiru, Tudun Wada, Ungogo, Bebeji, Gezawa, Dambatta, Makoda, Minjibir, Rano and Bunkure, among others.
Speaking during a media parley on Friday, Head of the PCN Enforcement Department, Suleiman Chiroma, who represented the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the council, Ibrahim Ahmed, said the exercise was conducted in line with the National Drug Policy and National Drug Distribution Guidelines.
Chiroma said PCN inspectors visited 1,153 premises during the operation, comprising 16 pharmacies, 700 patent and proprietary medicine vendor (PPMV) stores and 437 illegal drug outlets.
According to him, the council sealed 797 premises, including eight pharmacies, 352 patent medicine stores and all 437 illegal outlets identified during the exercise.
He added that six compliance directives were also issued to operators found to have breached regulatory requirements.
The PCN official said several of the affected outlets were operating without registration, while some PPMVs were found stocking ethical medicines, injectables and intravenous infusions beyond the categories of medicines they were authorised to sell.
He said inspectors also discovered cases of poor record-keeping, improper signage, unhygienic conditions and the exposure of poisonous substances to non-pharmacists.
Chiroma disclosed that the council shut down the illegal drug cluster at Dalan Gyada on Katsina Road as part of the enforcement exercise.
He warned residents against purchasing medicines from the cluster, stressing that the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines sold there could not be guaranteed.
“I wish to bring to the attention of the good people of Kano State that the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines sold at the Dalan Gyada illegal drug cluster cannot be guaranteed,” Chiroma said.
He explained that the sealing of all 437 illegal premises identified during the operation was carried out in accordance with the law.
Chiroma urged residents of Kano State to purchase medicines only from premises duly licensed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, stressing that patronising regulated outlets would help protect the public from unsafe and improperly handled medicines.