Nollywood actress cum producer, Mary Remmy Njoku, has urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to take swift action and investigate the issue of fake drugs circulating in Nigeria.
Naijaonpoint reports that the filmmaker, in a post via Instagram, raised concerns over the competence of medications in Nigeria following a recent experience with food poisoning on a film set.
Mary Njoku recounted how she purchased Imodium (a medication used to treat diarrhoea) from a prominent pharmacy chain in Nigeria, and despite taking the drug for three days, the symptoms persisted.
However, when her husband gave her the same medication purchased abroad, she experienced relief within five minutes.
The mother of three noted that it was not her first time experiencing such an incident.
She said, “I want to share a recent experience: I had food poisoning on a set and sent a staff member to buy Imodium from a well-known pharmacy chain in Nigeria.
“A medication I’ve used many times before. I took it for about three days, but my symptoms persisted.
“Then my husband bought a tiny tablet of the same Imodium from abroad and after taking it, my stomach issues subsided within just five minutes.
“This isn’t the first time I have noticed a difference. So I have to ask: What exactly are we being sold in Nigeria? What’s going on with our drugs?
“This is a public health risk and NAFDAC must take it seriously. This is very dangerous.”