NAFDAC Market Crackdown 2025: What Happened and What It Means for Traders

The year 2025 saw NAFDAC launch what it described as a comprehensive, coordinated enforcement campaign against illegal pharmaceutical trading in open drug markets across Nigeria. The operations were conducted in multiple phases throughout the year, targeting major drug markets in several states simultaneously. This represented a significant escalation from previous enforcement patterns, which had typically been localised, sporadic, and often perceived by traders as temporary disruptions rather than fundamental changes to the market structure.

The enforcement operations were planned at the highest levels of the federal government, with coordination between NAFDAC, the NDLEA, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and state governments. The scale of the operations was unprecedented, with multiple markets raided within the same period to prevent traders from simply moving stock from one market to another to avoid seizure. Intelligence gathering preceded the raids, with NAFDAC investigators mapping out the key players, storage locations, and supply chains in target markets.

During the first phase of operations in early 2025, enforcement teams simultaneously targeted markets in Onitsha, Lagos, and Kano. Products seized included unregistered pharmaceutical products, banned substances such as high-dose tramadol and codeine preparations, expired medications, improperly stored biologicals and vaccines, and counterfeit versions of popular drug brands. The agency deployed mobile laboratories to conduct on-site testing of seized products, documenting the extent of substandard and falsified medicines in the targeted markets.

Subsequent phases throughout 2025 expanded the operations to other markets including Ariaria in Aba, Head Bridge Market in Onitsha (which is closely linked to Ogbogwu), and smaller pharmaceutical trading clusters in cities like Nnewi, Ibadan, Kaduna, and Port Harcourt. NAFDAC also targeted warehouses and storage facilities outside the main market areas, recognising that many traders kept the bulk of their stock in off-site locations to reduce losses during market raids.

Ogbogwu Market, located at the Bridge Head area of Onitsha in Anambra State, bore the brunt of the 2025 enforcement campaign. As the largest open drug market in Nigeria and arguably in West Africa, Ogbogwu was identified by NAFDAC as a priority target. The market, which serves as a wholesale hub supplying drugs to retailers across southern Nigeria, had long been criticised for the volume of unregulated pharmaceutical trading that occurred there. Traders in Ogbogwu range from large-scale importers and distributors to small retail sellers, with varying levels of pharmaceutical training and regulatory compliance.

NAFDAC enforcement teams, supported by security agencies, conducted multiple operations in Ogbogwu throughout 2025. During the major raids, hundreds of shops were inspected and dozens were sealed. Products seized from the market were reported to be worth several billion naira in total across all operations during the year. Key items seized included large quantities of tramadol above 100mg, unregistered antimalarials, expired antibiotics, counterfeit versions of popular brands, and pharmaceutical products stored in conditions that compromised their efficacy and safety.

The impact on traders in Ogbogwu was significant. Many experienced substantial financial losses from seized stock. Some traders who were found to be dealing in banned or counterfeit products were arrested and prosecuted. The market associations, including the Drug and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (DAPDAN), reported that the crackdown caused significant disruption to legitimate businesses as well, as the enforcement operations sometimes did not distinguish adequately between compliant and non-compliant traders during the initial phases.

The Anambra State government played a dual role during the crackdown, supporting NAFDAC's public health mandate while also seeking to protect the economic interests of the market, which is a major source of employment and commercial activity in the state. The state government engaged in discussions with both NAFDAC and market associations to find a balance between enforcement and economic sustainability, and actively supported the development of a Coordinated Wholesale Centre in Anambra as an alternative trading location for displaced traders.

Despite the disruption, many traders in Ogbogwu acknowledged that the crackdown addressed genuine problems. The presence of counterfeit and substandard drugs in the market had damaged the reputation of all traders, including those dealing in legitimate products. Some traders expressed cautious support for the transition to a regulated environment, provided that the new facilities were affordable and accessible, and that the government followed through on promises of support during the transition period.

Idumota Market on Lagos Island has historically been the second-largest open drug market in Nigeria after Ogbogwu. The 2025 NAFDAC crackdown had a major impact on Idumota and surrounding areas where pharmaceutical trading occurs, including parts of Balogun Market and Nnamdi Azikiwe Street. The Lagos operations were coordinated with the Lagos State Government, which had been pursuing its own agenda to regulate pharmaceutical trading in the state through the Lagos State Drug and Monitoring Unit.

NAFDAC enforcement teams conducted several raids on Idumota in 2025, focusing on wholesale dealers and large-scale distributors. The seizures in Lagos were significant in volume, reflecting the market's role as a distribution hub for the entire southwestern region and beyond. Products seized included a wide range of unregistered imports, particularly products imported through unofficial channels (often described as 'smuggled' by NAFDAC) that bypassed the agency's port inspection processes.

The Lagos enforcement operations also targeted the Alaba International Market in Ojo and Trade Fair Complex in Festac, where pharmaceutical products were sometimes sold alongside electronics and other consumer goods without any pharmaceutical oversight. These operations highlighted the challenge of pharmaceutical products being sold in general merchandise markets by traders with no pharmaceutical background, a practice that NAFDAC has long sought to eliminate.

The response from Lagos-based traders was mixed. While some larger, more established dealers had already begun transitioning to more compliant business models and supported the regulatory direction, smaller traders felt disproportionately affected. The National Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED) Lagos chapter raised concerns about the economic impact on its members and called for a phased approach to enforcement that would allow traders time to adjust. The Lagos State Government subsequently announced plans to expedite the development of a Coordinated Wholesale Centre in the state to provide a regulated alternative.

The Sabon-Gari pharmaceutical market in Kano, the largest drug market in northern Nigeria, was another major target of the 2025 crackdown. The market serves as the primary distribution hub for pharmaceutical products destined for the entire northern region, including states in the North-West, North-East, and North-Central geopolitical zones. The enforcement operations in Kano were particularly significant given the region's history of high-dose tramadol abuse and the circulation of unregistered pharmaceutical products from neighbouring countries.

NAFDAC operations in Sabon-Gari resulted in the seizure of large quantities of banned and unregistered products, including high-dose tramadol capsules, unregistered antimalarials, and counterfeit antibiotics. The agency reported that some products seized in the Kano market had been smuggled into Nigeria through land borders with Niger Republic, Cameroon, and Chad, bypassing all regulatory controls. These products lacked NAFDAC registration numbers and had not undergone any quality testing.

The enforcement actions in northern Nigeria extended beyond Kano to other significant pharmaceutical markets in Kaduna, Jos, Maiduguri, and Sokoto. In several of these locations, NAFDAC worked closely with the NDLEA, reflecting the overlap between pharmaceutical regulation and narcotics control in the region. The discovery of large quantities of psychotropic substances, including tramadol and codeine products, at various locations led to joint NAFDAC-NDLEA operations that resulted in both product seizures and criminal arrests.

Traders in northern Nigeria raised concerns about the impact of the crackdown on drug availability in underserved areas. Northern Nigeria has fewer pharmacies per capita than the south, and open drug markets have historically filled the gap in pharmaceutical access, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas. While acknowledging the public health rationale for the crackdown, stakeholders called on the federal government to ensure that the transition to regulated distribution channels did not create a vacuum in pharmaceutical access that could worsen health outcomes in already underserved communities.

The 2025 crackdown provoked strong reactions from pharmaceutical market traders and their associations across Nigeria. The Drug and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (DAPDAN), which represents many wholesale drug traders, issued statements expressing concern about the methods used during enforcement operations, alleging that some operations were heavy-handed and resulted in the destruction of legitimate stock alongside prohibited products. DAPDAN called for a more consultative approach and for NAFDAC to distinguish more carefully between compliant and non-compliant traders.

Some markets saw protests and temporary closures as traders demonstrated against what they perceived as excessive enforcement. In Onitsha, traders at Ogbogwu temporarily shut down the market in protest after a major raid, citing the loss of goods worth millions of naira and the arrest of traders they considered to be legitimate businesspeople. The protests attracted media attention and put political pressure on the Anambra State Government to mediate between NAFDAC and the market community.

Market associations across the country entered into negotiations with NAFDAC regarding the terms and timeline for the transition from open markets to Coordinated Wholesale Centres. Key issues in these negotiations included the cost of space in the new CWCs, the criteria for traders to qualify for relocation, the timeline for the complete closure of open drug markets, and the provision of training and support for traders who needed to upgrade their practices to meet regulatory requirements.

Despite the initial resistance, a significant number of traders recognised that the regulatory direction was irreversible and began taking steps to comply. Many registered their businesses with NAFDAC, obtained or renewed their pharmaceutical trading licences, and began the process of applying for space in the planned CWCs. The traders who adapted earliest were often those with larger, more established businesses who could absorb the compliance costs more easily, raising concerns about the impact on smaller traders who might be squeezed out of the formalised pharmaceutical market.

NAFDAC maintained a firm position throughout the 2025 enforcement campaign, framing the crackdown as a necessary step to protect the health of Nigerians. The NAFDAC Director-General issued multiple public statements emphasising that the open drug market model was fundamentally incompatible with the safe distribution of pharmaceutical products. Key concerns cited included the lack of temperature control in open-air markets (which can degrade drugs in Nigeria's tropical climate), the absence of qualified pharmacists in most trading premises, and the ease with which counterfeit and banned products could be mixed with legitimate stock.

NAFDAC also published data from its enforcement operations to support its position. According to the agency's reports, a significant percentage of products sampled from open drug markets during the 2025 operations failed quality testing. These failures included products with incorrect active ingredient content, products contaminated with harmful substances, products that had degraded due to improper storage, and products that were outright counterfeits with no active ingredient at all. This data was used to build public support for the crackdown and to counter criticism from market traders.

The agency acknowledged the economic concerns of traders but maintained that public health could not be compromised for commercial interests. NAFDAC officials repeatedly stated that the transition to Coordinated Wholesale Centres would ultimately benefit legitimate traders by creating a level playing field where those who invested in quality and compliance would no longer have to compete with unscrupulous dealers selling cheaper counterfeit and substandard products.

NAFDAC also reached out to international partners to support its enforcement efforts. The agency collaborated with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), and INTERPOL's pharmaceutical crime unit to strengthen its capacity for detecting falsified medicines and to share intelligence about international trafficking networks supplying counterfeit drugs to Nigerian markets.

The 2025 crackdown was closely linked to NAFDAC's broader strategy of transitioning pharmaceutical wholesale trading from open drug markets to Coordinated Wholesale Centres (CWCs). CWCs are purpose-built, climate-controlled facilities designed to meet Good Distribution Practice (GDP) and Good Storage Practice (GSP) standards. They are intended to replace the chaotic, unregulated environment of open drug markets with a modern, traceable, and accountable pharmaceutical distribution infrastructure.

The CWC concept was first introduced by the federal government as part of a comprehensive pharmaceutical sector reform agenda. Under the plan, each geopolitical zone in Nigeria would have at least one CWC, with the first facilities developed in states that host the major existing drug markets: Anambra (for Ogbogwu), Lagos (for Idumota), and Kano (for Sabon-Gari). The CWCs would be operated under NAFDAC supervision, with all traders required to be properly licensed, all products verified as registered, and all transactions recorded for traceability.

The 2025 enforcement actions were explicitly designed to accelerate the transition to CWCs by making it increasingly untenable for traders to continue operating in open markets. NAFDAC officials stated that the enforcement pressure would continue and intensify until the open drug markets were fully decommissioned and traders had relocated to CWCs. This approach was described as a necessary 'push factor' to complement the 'pull factors' of providing modern facilities and regulatory support within the CWCs.

Progress on CWC development varied by location. The Anambra State CWC project was the most advanced, with construction of the facility progressing through 2025. In Lagos and Kano, site selection and planning were underway but construction had not yet been completed. Traders and market associations expressed frustration at being pressured to leave open markets before the CWC alternatives were fully ready, describing the situation as being pushed out of one location without having a viable alternative to move to.

NAFDAC and the federal government responded to these concerns by announcing transitional arrangements, including temporary trading facilities and extended timelines for complete market closure. The agency also indicated that financial incentives and loans might be made available to help traders meet the costs of relocating to CWCs. However, the details and implementation of these support measures remained a subject of ongoing negotiation between NAFDAC, state governments, and market associations.

For pharmaceutical traders operating in or near the affected markets, the 2025 crackdown made compliance an urgent priority. The first and most important step is to ensure that every product in your stock is properly registered with NAFDAC. Unregistered products are the most common reason for seizure during enforcement operations. Verify each product against the NAFDAC registered products database, and immediately remove any product that cannot be verified. If you have been sourcing products from suppliers who cannot provide NAFDAC registration documentation, stop purchasing from those suppliers immediately.

Ensure that your business is properly licensed. All pharmaceutical wholesale dealers must be registered with NAFDAC and hold a valid licence. If you are operating as a patent medicine vendor, you must have a valid licence from the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria and confine your stock to approved over-the-counter products. Operating without a licence or stocking products outside your licence scope is an invitation for enforcement action. The licensing process, while bureaucratic, is essential for legal protection.

Invest in proper storage conditions for your pharmaceutical stock. Products must be stored in clean, dry, temperature-controlled environments. NAFDAC inspectors routinely assess storage conditions during both scheduled inspections and enforcement raids. Products found to be stored in conditions that could compromise their quality and safety — such as exposure to direct sunlight, excessive heat, or moisture — can be seized and destroyed even if they are otherwise registered and legitimate.

Keep detailed records of all your pharmaceutical transactions, including purchase receipts, supplier information, batch numbers, expiry dates, and customer records. These records demonstrate due diligence and can be your best defence in the event of an enforcement action. If you can show that you purchased products in good faith from licensed suppliers and maintained proper records, you are in a much stronger legal position than a trader who cannot account for the provenance of their stock.

Begin the process of transitioning to a Coordinated Wholesale Centre if one is available in your area. Early adopters of the CWC model are likely to benefit from better facility allocation, more favourable terms, and the goodwill of regulatory authorities. The long-term regulatory direction is clear: open drug markets will be phased out, and traders who position themselves early in the new regulated environment will have a competitive advantage over those who resist change.

The 2025 crackdown is not a one-off event but the beginning of a sustained regulatory transformation of Nigeria's pharmaceutical distribution landscape. NAFDAC has made it clear that enforcement pressure will continue and likely intensify in 2026 and beyond until the transition from open drug markets to regulated Coordinated Wholesale Centres is complete. Traders who have weathered previous crackdowns by temporarily adjusting their behaviour and then returning to business as usual should not expect that approach to work this time.

The federal government's commitment to the CWC programme appears to be firm, backed by both domestic policy priorities and international pressure. Nigeria's pharmaceutical regulation is closely watched by international partners, including the WHO and donor agencies that fund malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis programmes in the country. The credibility of Nigeria's pharmaceutical supply chain is directly linked to the country's ability to attract and retain international health funding and partnerships.

Technology will play an increasing role in pharmaceutical regulation going forward. NAFDAC's Track and Trace system, the expanded Mobile Authentication Service, and the development of digital record-keeping requirements all point toward a future where every pharmaceutical product in Nigeria can be traced from manufacturer to end user. Traders who invest in technology and record-keeping systems now will be better positioned for this future than those who continue to operate on an informal, cash-based model.

For consumers, the long-term impact of the crackdown and the transition to CWCs should be positive. A more regulated pharmaceutical supply chain means fewer counterfeit and substandard drugs reaching patients, better storage conditions preserving drug efficacy, and more accountability when things go wrong. However, there are concerns about whether the transition could temporarily increase drug prices or reduce access in underserved areas, and these concerns will need to be actively managed by NAFDAC, state governments, and the health sector.

Pharmaceutical traders who want to survive and thrive in the new regulatory environment should view the 2025 crackdown not as a threat but as a signal to adapt. The Nigerian pharmaceutical market continues to grow, driven by population growth, increasing health awareness, and expanding health insurance coverage. There is abundant opportunity for traders who are willing to operate within the regulatory framework. The era of unregulated open drug market trading may be ending, but the business of legitimate pharmaceutical distribution in Nigeria is only growing.