•Intersociety demands immediate end of siege on Drug Market, 5 others

Outrage has continued to greet the siege to the Onitsha Drug Market and five adjoining others, with foremost rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) demanding the immediate end to the siege. It spoke up barely hours after 2023 Presidential Candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, condemned the wholesale closure of the market, advising that only markets selling fake and expired drugs are supposed to be shut.

Intersociety in a statement issued in Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria, this Tuesday morning, February 18, 2025, “strongly” called on “the authorities of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, to send its hired soldiers of the Nigerian Army out of the Onitsha Drug Market and five adjoining others. NAFDAC must also refrain from further exposing the Nigerian Military or officers and personnel and high commands of the Nigerian Armed Forces to unprofessionalism and corrupt practices.”

The rights group called “for immediate re-opening of the affected markets and refunding of not less than N20billion being loses incurred by the innocent traders of the six affected markets since Sunday, February 9, 2025, particularly traders of the Onitsha Drug Market.”

Continuing, Intersociety said in the statement signed by Board Chair Emeka Umeagbalasi; Head, Democracy and Good Governance Program, Chinwe Umeche Esquire; Head, Campaign and Publicity, Chidinma Evangeline Udegbunam Esquire; and Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Obianuju Joy Igboeli Esquire:

“We at the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) hereby strongly condemn the total shutdown and militarization since Sunday, February 9, 2025, of the Onitsha Drug Market, the largest open drug market in Nigeria; shutdown and militarized alongside those of Idumota in Lagos and Ariaria in Aba, Abia State. The NAFDAC-hired soldiers of the Nigerian Army under the coordination of Commandant of the Onitsha 302 Artillery Regiment and General Support Service, Col Adamu K Muhammad, had on the said date invaded the crowded market and five adjoining others; namely: Oduwani part of the Carpentry Tools (Power Tools and Allied) Market, the Surgical Line Market, the Plumbing Materials Market, the Ogbogwu Fashion Line Market, the Bridgehead Provision Market and part of the Timber Dealers Market. The above-named markets were shut down and taken over by soldiers of the Nigerian Army and their NAFDAC hirers-during which the NAFDAC field officials and leaders of the hired soldiers forced leaders of the affected markets to surrender the keys of their gates and lines and took possession of them till date.

“Since then, it is not only that traders of the affected Onitsha Drug Market have incurred billions of naira loses amounting to not less than N20billion, but have also been starved, threatened and forced out of their legitimate businesses. The worst of it all is that traders and leaders of the five unaffected markets have permanently been shut out and denied access to their shops and legitimate livelihoods. The Intersociety has also since Monday, Feb 10, 2025, sent “undercovers” into the affected and unaffected market areas, during which several acts of corruption involving some deployed soldiers and field officials of drug agency were clandestinely reported through “Widows’ Connection”, tactics reportedly deployed by suspected illicit drug kingpins and desperate others and used to corruptly gain access into some market stalls in the hours of the blue law to smuggle contraband and company drugs-during which tens of millions of naira reportedly exchanged hands.

“The above, if true, is a clear case of encouraging corruption and other corrupt practices among the deployed soldiers of the country’s armed forces and their high commands. While we are not against sanitization exercise by NAFDAC geared towards ridding the country of fake and adulterated drugs and stamping out their dealers and manufacturers, we strongly condemn the militarist approach adopted; and corruptive attitude of the authorities of the NAFDAC particularly the way and manner the Onitsha Drug Market and five adjoining others that have nothing whatsoever to do with fake and adulterated drugs were invaded, shut down and put under lock and key since Feb 9, 2025; a period of nine days going into fourteen. The NAFDAC and its hired soldiers of the Nigerian Army are also insensitive to the plight of over 95% of traders in the Onitsha Drug Market and 100% of traders of the other five adjoining markets unlawfully and militarily shut down and forced out of their legitimate businesses since Sunday, February 9, 2025. From all indications, the NAFDAC and its hired Nigerian Army invaders goofed when they heavily relied on guesswork and poor planning and despicably engaged in punitive, bias, discriminatory and selective enforcement operations.

“Instead of using credible intelligence through inter-agency intelligence gathering and sharing that should have identified and profiled the illicit drug kingpins for easy tracking and apprehension using digital and allied manual processes including their identities, locations and places of abode and criminal syndicates such as corrupt soldiers and police squads providing cover and protection during importation or manufacturing or couriering of such illicit drugs; the NAFDAC and its hired officers and personnel of the Nigerian Army and their high command have chosen to resort to punishment and persecution of innocent traders of the Onitsha Drug Market and shielding of their illicit drug kingpins; especially many, if not most of such illicit drug kingpins have relocated out of the Market to their private mansions and other protected enclaves from where their illicit businesses are operated uncaught and under heavy protection of those drawn from coercive establishments that are supposed to go after them and bring them to justice.

“Strongly condemned is strict registration procedures or conditions imposed by NAFDAC on non-registered but universally approved drugs; presently classified by the Agency as “contraband drugs”. Other than the likes of codeine, cocaine and narcotic-tramadol and allied illicit others; the universally approved drugs presently in use globally which bear none “NAFDAC numbers” in Nigeria must be liberalized and legalized and their registrations with NAFDAC made easy or obtained with little costs or given free of charge. This is more so when such health-friendly drugs are used to treat patients all over the world including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, the rest of Africa and Middle East. Experiences have shown that when certain products are forced underground through Government contraband policy, their dealers go underground with them and devise illegitimate tricks and dirty means to survive and remain uncaught in such businesses. NAFDAC and its hired Nigerian Army must also avoid targeting “Igbo dominated drug markets” alone and overlooking those owned by members of other ethnic groups such as “the Yoruba and the Hausa illicit and contraband drug businesses and dealers” thriving in places like Kano; and must also avoid resorting to transferred criminal liability-by way of arresting and punishing the uninvolved citizens and their properties in lieu of “criminal persons and their properties”; a serious breach of Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.

“We hereby call on the authorities of NAFDAC and their hired officers and personnel and high command of the Nigerian Army to as a matter of uttermost immediacy reopen the militarily, corruptly and unlawfully shutdown Onitsha Drug Market and those located in Idumota in Lagos State and Ariaria in Aba, Abia State. NAFDAC must refrain from encouraging corruption and unprofessionalism in the Nigerian military and stop using them to militarize the Agency’s civil and law enforcement operations. Traders of the Onitsha Drug Market and those in Lagos and Abia must steer clear of fake and adulterated drugs or trading on illicit hard drugs such as codeine, cocaine, contraband tramadol and allied others.

“The Executive Governor of Anambra State, Prof Charles Soludo, is hereby called upon to wade into the matter and facilitate speedy re-opening of the Onitsha Drug Market and five adjoining others. NAFDAC is further advised to go after fake and illicit drug kingpins responsible and leave innocent others alone who constitute over 95% of the entire Market’s traders. Breaking market stores belonging to traders of the Market in their absence and confiscating their goods, whether done in the hours of the blue law or in broad day light, is a serious misconduct and an unlawful act capable of attracting a flurry of lawsuits against the NAFDAC and its hired officers and personnel and high command of the Nigerian Army. The NAFDAC field operators must always go to the equity with clean hands and avoid operational illegalities and corrupt practices as well as being corporately a party to militarization and stifling of Civic Space in Nigeria or any part thereof.”