Human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, has urged President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency over the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard drugs and other consumer products in circulation across Nigeria.

Adeyanju called for the removal of the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the heads of other regulatory agencies, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), accusing them of failing to effectively protect Nigerians from dangerous products.

In a statement, Adeyanju said the alarming prevalence of fake and substandard medicines and consumer products pointed to what he described as a serious breakdown of regulation in critical sectors.

He expressed concern that Nigerians were being exposed to potentially dangerous products daily, particularly medicines whose quality and safety could not be guaranteed.

“The alarming prevalence of counterfeit and substandard drugs and other consumer products in Nigeria points to a complete collapse of regulation in critical sectors,” he said.

Adeyanju raised concern over reports of medicines being sold wholesale in open markets and exposed to the hot sun, warning that such practices could pose serious risks to public health.

He said the situation was unacceptable in a country where the government had a responsibility to protect citizens from unsafe medicines and other harmful products.

“No responsible government should expose its citizens to such risks and expect mortality rates not to rise,” he said.

The lawyer specifically criticised NAFDAC, saying the agency appeared incapable of effectively curbing the proliferation of fake and substandard products.

He said the concerns were not limited to NAFDAC, arguing that similar problems existed within other regulatory bodies, including SON, which are responsible for ensuring that products available to Nigerians meet prescribed safety and quality standards.

Adeyanju urged Tinubu to take what he described as decisive action by replacing the leadership of regulatory agencies that had failed to discharge their responsibilities.

“The President must be alive to his responsibility and act decisively by removing the Director-General of NAFDAC and the heads of other failed regulatory agencies, including SON, and appointing competent leadership capable of restoring effective regulation and enforcement,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government to undertake a comprehensive review of the country’s regulatory framework to strengthen monitoring, enforcement and accountability across the affected sectors.

According to him, the government should treat the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard drugs as an urgent national concern rather than an isolated regulatory problem.

“The Federal Government should, as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency on the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard drugs and products and undertake a comprehensive review of the country’s regulatory system,” Adeyanju said.

“Nigerians cannot continue to pay with their lives for regulatory failure.”