Nigeria, Kenya listed as test sites for destructive weapons

Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has listed Nigeria and Kenya as test sites for chemicals associated with weapons of destruction.

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), in a statement, yesterday, by Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, said: “Following massive investment in our laboratory, Nigeria has been designated by OPCW.

“What it means is that all chemicals associated with weapons of destruction, both biological and chemical, can be tested in NAFDAC laboratory.

“This came to the fore when experts from OPCW visited NAFDAC’s central laboratory in Oshodi, Lagos on Thursday for inspection and assessment of facilities to be deployed for global assignment.”

Akintola said OPCW officials in The Hague, Netherlands, came with some experts on laboratory assessment from Finnish Institute of Verification of Chemical Weapons Convention (FERIVIN) based in University of Helsinki.

Leader of the team, Dr. Roman Warchol, expressed satisfaction with the facilities provided by NAFDAC, saying they were comparable to whatever could be found anywhere in advanced economies of the world. He said they were around to assess laboratory competency of the regulator for service delivery.

NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said: “We have been on this for about four years. Except for the COVID-19 period, which really affected activities.

“We are going on proficiency testing, and we have gone from ‘participation’ to ‘very good’, which is the highest level in OPCW assessment.”

The NAFDAC boss said she was excited because the experts were overwhelmed with the facilities on ground. She continued: “We did all our presentations. There were little or no questions. All we are now discussing is level of improvement and areas that we should improve on. They were overwhelmed by commitment of National Authority for Chemical and Biological Weapons Convention (NAC&BWC) in Nigeria and the Federal Government to the project.”

“We are not at war, yes, but we are not only to be testing for Nigeria, we are not only going to be testing the samples that will be used in Nigeria. In Africa, we are only two sites, Nigeria and Kenya that are being considered for this. We will cover West Africa and some parts of Africa and the world. Wherever there are skirmishes or use of weapons, it might not only be war situation, NAFDAC could be invited to draw sample(s) and then test for possibility of using harmful chemicals that could be lethal to people.”