By Idris Shehu
Katsina (Nigeria) – Thirty – five drug hawkers have been arrested in Katsina, Northwest Nigeria by officers of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC, for not having basic pharmaceutical knowledge of the drugs they sell.
The agency had also sanctioned several other drug outlets that were found selling counterfeit drugs in the state.
Katsina State Coordinator of NAFDAC, Muhammad Bashir Muazu who disclosed this to newsmen also said more than fifty illegal packaged water factories have been sealed – off in the state.
Katsina is one of the Nigerian states with high cases of drug hawking – the hawkers are virtually found in every nook and cranny of Katsina metropolis and environs.
The hawkers are popularly called ‘kafada chemists’ in Hausa, (meaning, chemist on shoulders) as they typically carry baskets of drugs on their shoulders to hawk.
The State Coordinator explained that “most of them are young and illiterate, and have no knowledge of basic pharmacy, hence they endanger the lives of their customers.”
Alhaji Muhammad Bashir called on the general public to always provide NAFDAC with useful information about the activities of quack drug sellers and illegal packaged water factories.
This he said would assist the agency in safeguarding the health of people of the state.
