The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria has shut down 383 pharmaceutical outlets across Ogun State following a four-day enforcement exercise targeting illegal and non-compliant drug premises.
The Council’s Head of Enforcement, Suleiman Chiroma, announced the outcome of the operation on Friday at a press briefing in Abeokuta, noting that it was carried out on the instruction of the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Pharm Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, and spanned 11 local government areas in the state.
Chiroma said inspectors visited 738 pharmaceutical premises in total, made up of 277 registered pharmacies, 288 Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor stores, and 173 outlets operating without registration. Of these, 383 were sealed for various breaches, including 123 pharmacies, 87 patent medicine stores, and all 173 unregistered outlets, while three premises received compliance directives instead.
The exercise took place in Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, Odeda, Obafemi-Owode, Ifo, Ado-Odo/Ota, Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode, Ikenne, Ijebu North-East and Ewekoro.
According to Chiroma, common violations uncovered during the raids included operating without a valid PCN licence, substandard storage of medicines, unauthorised handling of controlled drugs, obstructing inspectors, cooking on the premises, and training apprentices without authorisation.
He warned that such practices put public health at risk and could allow controlled medicines to end up in the hands of criminal networks, undermining national security. He added that medicines dispensed by untrained hands and stored improperly contribute to failed treatments, drug resistance and preventable deaths, ultimately driving up healthcare costs and eroding public confidence in the health system.
Chiroma said the crackdown was carried out under the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2022, which gives the Council authority to regulate pharmacy practice and licence pharmaceutical premises nationwide.
He disclosed that about 23 per cent of all premises inspected were found to be operating illegally, with the bulk of these located outside Abeokuta metropolis, and that illegal outlets made up 45 per cent of everything sealed during the exercise. All illegal premises identified, he said, were sealed as required by law.
Only 56 per cent of the pharmacies inspected met full regulatory standards, Chiroma said, compared with a 70 per cent compliance rate among Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor outlets.
He advised the public to buy medicines only from PCN-licensed premises, pointing out that legitimate outlets display valid licences openly, and warned that the Council would continue to sanction operators found flouting the law.
The PCN is Nigeria’s statutory regulator for pharmacy education, practice and drug distribution. It has stepped up enforcement against unregistered drug outlets in recent years, citing risks tied to substandard and fake drugs, misuse of controlled substances, and the involvement of unqualified persons in medicine sales — and has consistently urged Nigerians to buy only from licensed pharmacies.
