The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group, has strongly condemned operatives of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for conducting a midnight raid on the Onitsha drug market.
The market, widely known as Ogbo Ogwu, is located at the Head Bridge in Anambra State.
In a statement on Thursday, IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, accused NAFDAC operatives of looting goods under the guise of searching for fake drugs.
Describing the incident, Powerful alleged that the agency deliberately obstructed CCTV cameras before the raid, questioning its motives and demanding accountability and transparency.
According to the statement, Powerful also noted that NAFDAC has yet to provide evidence of destroying the impounded fake drugs after the operation at the Onitsha drug market.
While criticizing the actions of fake drug dealers and requested the looted good to be returned to their respective traders, Powerful stated, “At the same time, we condemn the criminal raids by NAFDAC on people’s shops in their absence while blackmailing all the traders as dealers of fake drugs.
“The act of blocking surveillance cameras with black nylon bags is criminal. In every shop at the market, NAFDAC operatives broke into people’s stores and shops.
“This unlawful activity by NAFDAC officers was conducted in the middle of the night.
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“NAFDAC looted people’s shops in Onitsha and labeled all the drugs they carted away as fake without providing evidence to support their claims.
“The questions NAFDAC must answer are: Why raid people’s shops in the middle of the night in the absence of the owners?
“Why did NAFDAC officers block the surveillance cameras in the market while conducting the raid?
“How did NAFDAC determine whether the drugs they seized were fake or genuine?
“Where did NAFDAC deposit all the drugs they claimed were counterfeit?
“Why did NAFDAC seal the entire drug market, punishing both the guilty and the innocent?
“IPOB does not support the activities of fake drug peddlers in the Onitsha market, but NAFDAC must uphold citizens’ rights and act with professionalism, not like a rogue agency.
“Nigerian government agencies always apply a heavy-handed approach against the Ndigbo, while using a softer approach when dealing with other ethnic groups,” the the separatist group expressed.
