Nigeria, Feb. 22 -- No fewer than 11,000 shops have been sealed by the operatives of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), while over 40 individuals have been arrested in its ongoing nationwide clampdown on fake and substandard medicines.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, while disclosing this to journalists in Lagos on Saturday, stated that the enforcement had been planned for over a year as a covert operation.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that on 10 February, NAFDAC began enforcement operations at the Idumota open drug market, the Ariaria drug market in Aba, and the Bridge Market in Onitsha.

According to the agency, these three markets, which distribute over 80 per cent...