The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 797 drug outlets across Kano State for various regulatory violations, including operating illegally and stocking medicines outside approved categories.
The affected premises comprise 437 illegal drug outlets, 352 Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor (PPMV) stores and eight pharmacies.
The enforcement exercise, which lasted four days, was conducted across 28 local government areas as part of the council’s efforts to sanitise the state’s drug distribution system.
The PCN disclosed this on Friday during a press briefing in Kano on the outcome of the second phase of the enforcement operation.
The Head of the Enforcement Department, Suleiman S. Chiroma, who represented the council’s Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Pharm. Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, said the exercise was carried out in line with the National Drug Policy and National Drug Distribution Guidelines.
According to him, inspectors visited 1,153 premises during the operation, comprising 16 pharmacies, 700 patent medicine stores and 437 illegal drug outlets.
Chiroma said all 437 illegal outlets identified during the exercise were sealed, while eight pharmacies and 352 patent medicine stores were also shut for violating regulatory requirements.
The council further issued six compliance directives to operators found to have breached its regulations.
Among the violations uncovered were operating without registration, stocking ethical medicines, injectables and intravenous infusions beyond the scope permitted for patent medicine vendors, as well as poor record-keeping and improper signage.
Inspectors also discovered unhygienic conditions and poisonous substances stored in places where they could be accessed by non-pharmacists.
The enforcement team also shut down the illegal drug cluster at Dalan Gyada on Katsina Road.
Chiroma warned residents against buying medicines from unlicensed outlets, saying the quality, safety and efficacy of products sold at the illegal drug cluster could not be guaranteed.
He said the council would continue to enforce regulations to protect the public from the dangers associated with improperly handled and illegally distributed medicines.
The PCN urged residents to purchase medicines only from licensed pharmaceutical premises and to verify that such facilities display a valid and current licence.
“The display of a valid and current licence is mandatory and confirms that the facility is duly authorised to operate,” Chiroma said.
