The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has petitioned the Minister of Health, Dr Muhammed Ali Pate, the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, and the Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, over alleged abuses and administrative highhandedness of the South-East Director of NAFDAC, Dr. Martins Iluyomade.
In the letter served on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, and made available to SaharaReporters, Intersociety raised 19 specific findings concerning NAFDAC’s controversial and disruptive operations at the Onitsha Drug Market from February 9 to March 7, 2025.
The human rights organisation described NAFDAC’s actions as poorly planned and executed, alleging that they had deteriorated into extortion and abuse of regulatory power.
Among the key issues raised by Intersociety was the imposition of arbitrary and extortionate levies on market traders.
These include a N700,000 “poor storage fee” per market store, N200,000 for each packing store, and N200,000 penalty per brand of allegedly unregistered imported drugs. The petition condemned the forced signing of self-incriminating undertakings by traders as a condition for reopening their businesses.
The organisation further alleged that the account number used to collect the N900,000 levies from traders does not belong to the Central Bank of Nigeria, as NAFDAC purported, but to a corporate bank account operated by the agency. Field verification by Intersociety’s team confirmed this on April 30, 2025.Nigerian fashion
The group is demanding a total reversal of the levies, refund of all monies already collected, and full disclosure of the total funds extorted.
The Intersociety letter said that “those already forced to pay the sundry extortionist fees should be refunded and the public account of how much already collected and their whereabouts rendered by NAFDAC.
“We have also investigated and found that the account number with which traders of the Market are being forced to pay the N900,000 for every lock-up/packing store and allied unjustified fees imposed on the affected traders does not belong to CBN as purportedly claimed by NAFDAC. Bank officials visited by our field team on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, located and found the account belonging to NAFDAC corporate bank account.
“We make a strong and fresh demand for unconditional re-opening of the Onitsha Drug Market and called for thorough investigations into the entire operations by NAFDAC; and called for removal of the NAFDAC Director in charge of the South-East, Dr Martins Iluyomade and all key officials of the Agency in charge of the operations from the South-East Zone on the grounds of the fact that they have overstayed their usefulness and welcome and must be removed and thoroughly investigated and severely sanctioned if indicted.”
In the petition to Governor Soludo, Intersociety also called attention to what it described as “gruesome extrajudicial killings” and rampant abuse of power by the Anambra State-backed security outfit known as Operation Udo Gachi/Agunaechemba.
The petition highlighted the killing of Mrs. Chioma Okeke, a Chemistry teacher and mother of four, by operatives of the security outfit at Ibeto Junction, Nnewi, on April 15, 2025. The lead officer, Chinedu Okonkwo, and four others reportedly opened fire during a traffic jam, killing Mrs. Okeke who was employed by Soludo’s administration in 2022.
Despite public outrage, Intersociety claims the Soludo-led government has remained silent, neither condemning the act nor extending condolences to the victim’s family. The group is demanding that the state government take responsibility by visiting the family, apologizing publicly, covering funeral costs, and awarding scholarships to the victim’s children.
In another explosive revelation, Intersociety accused the Anambra State government of unlawfully detaining at least 37 traditional religion and medicine practitioners without trial for over three months.
These arrests, the group says, followed the state’s January 27, 2025, clampdown on such groups under allegations of ritualism, kidnapping, and other crimes.
While three high-profile detainees were eventually arraigned in court on April 4, 2025— following public pressure and a 35-page report released by Intersociety — the whereabouts and legal status of the remaining detainees remain unknown.
The organisation argues that both the Anambra Homeland Security Law 2025 and the Nigerian Constitution have been flagrantly violated.Nigerian fashion
The group is calling for immediate disclosure of the names, detention conditions, and legal statuses of the detainees. It is also demanding accountability for any deaths in custody, release of those held beyond the constitutionally permitted period, and a full investigation into the operations of the security outfit.
Signed by Chinwe Umeche and Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Heads of Intersociety’s Governance and Rule of Law Programmes respectively, and Board Chair, Emeka Umeagbalasi, the letters paint a damning picture of governance, security, and regulatory abuse in Anambra State and the South-East at large.
The ball is now in the court of the Nigerian Ministry of Health, NAFDAC leadership, and the Anambra State government to respond decisively to the allegations and take corrective actions. Nigerian fashion
