Kwara Cracks Down on Illegal Drug Outlets, Seals 724 Premises

No fewer than 724 pharmacies and medicine stores in Kwara State have been sealed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) over regulatory breaches.

The Registrar of the Council, Ibrahim Ahmed, stated this in Ilorin while briefing newsmen on the outcome of a four-day enforcement exercise carried out by PCN personnel in the state.
The enforcement exercise, which covered 10 local government areas, included Ilorin South, Ilorin East, Ilorin West, Asa, Offa, Ifelodun, Oyun, Moro, Irepodun and Edu.
The Registrar explained that 724 premises were sealed, comprising 68 pharmacies, 542 patent medicine stores and 114 illegal outlets. He noted that illegal premises accounted for 15.7 per cent of all facilities sealed due to one or more regulatory breaches.
Ahmed warned that any breach of established regulations would be met with decisive enforcement action by the Council. He also urged members of the public to always obtain their medicines from premises duly licensed by the Council to avert treatment failures, antimicrobial resistance and possible deaths.