{"id":164919,"date":"2025-05-30T10:16:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T09:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha"},"modified":"2025-05-30T11:20:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T10:20:09","slug":"ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha","title":{"rendered":"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has raised the alarm over the recent closure of a major pharmaceutical market in Onitsha, Anambra State, by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), urging calm amidst growing unrest among traders and local residents.<\/p>\n<p>The shutdown, part of a nationwide enforcement campaign conducted by NAFDAC between February 9 and March 27, 2025, targeted three key open drug markets, Idumota in Lagos, Ariaria in Aba, and Onitsha in Anambra. NAFDAC\u2019s operation led to the seizure and destruction of substandard, falsified, and expired medical products valued at over \u20a61 trillion.<\/p>\n<p>According to the agency, many of the affected warehouses and outlets violated national laws by operating without registration from the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) and failing to meet Good Storage and Distribution Practice (GSDP) standards.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, NAFDAC defended its actions, noting that penalties imposed on non-compliant operators were in accordance with gazetted federal regulations.<\/p>\n<p>These included a \u20a65 million fine for the sale of unregistered products, later reduced to \u20a6200,000 after appeals, and a \u20a62 million penalty for GSDP violations, also reduced to \u20a6500,000.<\/p>\n<p>The regulatory action, however, has drawn sharp reactions and fears of economic displacement within the Anambra trading community.<\/p>\n<p>Responding to the unfolding situation, IHRC\u2019s Country Representative, Amb. Dr. Duru Hezekiah, issued a public statement and urged all stakeholders to remain calm and to avoid actions that could trigger a breakdown of law and order.<\/p>\n<p>While acknowledging NAFDAC\u2019s legal mandate to safeguard public health, the IHRC emphasized that such enforcement must uphold the principles of fairness, due process, and human dignity, especially where people\u2019s livelihoods are affected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe call on NAFDAC to engage in meaningful dialogue with stakeholders, including market unions, civil society groups, and local authorities,\u201d said Ambassador Duru. \u201cEnforcement strategies should be balanced, emphasizing compliance education and corrective actions over punitive closures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The IHRC also called on the Federal Government to step in, urging the establishment of an independent review panel to assess the circumstances of the market closure and to recommend appropriate remedial actions consistent with the rule of law and human rights standards.<\/p>\n<p>Reaffirming its commitment to justice and equity, the IHRC offered to facilitate dialogue among stakeholders to ensure a peaceful and constructive resolution. It also appealed to both the Anambra State Government and federal authorities to act swiftly to de-escalate the situation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJustice and human dignity must remain the foundation of regulatory governance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has raised the alarm over the recent closure of a major pharmaceutical market in Onitsha, Anambra State, by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), urging calm amidst growing unrest among traders and local residents. The shutdown, part of a nationwide enforcement [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":164918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[612,1498,254,5068],"class_list":["post-164919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-ihrc","tag-nafdac","tag-nigeria","tag-onitsha"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has raised the alarm over the recent closure of a major pharmaceutical ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has raised the alarm over the recent closure of a major pharmaceutical ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-30T09:16:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-30T10:20:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1748587855.028876.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"913\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-30T09:16:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-30T10:20:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha\"},\"wordCount\":421,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1748587855.028876.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"IHRC\",\"NAFDAC\",\"Nigeria\",\"onitsha\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha\",\"name\":\"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha - Nigeria\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1748587855.028876.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-30T09:16:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-30T10:20:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has raised the alarm over the recent closure of a major pharmaceutical ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1748587855.028876.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1748587855.028876.jpg\",\"width\":1350,\"height\":913,\"caption\":\"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\",\"name\":\"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha - Nigeria","description":"The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has raised the alarm over the recent closure of a major pharmaceutical ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha","og_description":"The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has raised the alarm over the recent closure of a major pharmaceutical ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha","og_site_name":"Nigeria","article_published_time":"2025-05-30T09:16:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-30T10:20:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1350,"height":913,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1748587855.028876.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha","datePublished":"2025-05-30T09:16:58+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-30T10:20:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha"},"wordCount":421,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1748587855.028876.jpg","keywords":["IHRC","NAFDAC","Nigeria","onitsha"],"articleSection":["all news","Policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha","name":"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha - Nigeria","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1748587855.028876.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-30T09:16:58+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-30T10:20:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has raised the alarm over the recent closure of a major pharmaceutical ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1748587855.028876.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1748587855.028876.jpg","width":1350,"height":913,"caption":"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/ihrc-raises-alarm-over-nafdacs-closure-of-onitsha#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"IHRC raises alarm over NAFDAC\u2019s closure of Onitsha"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/","name":"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}