Abdulroheem Muideen Ajao, a self-aclaimed local drug producer, has been apprehended by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo state.
The regulatory agency also closed down Ajao's eight-room, ramshackle herbal hub that was located behind Periscope Model College, Muslim area of the ancient city.
Ajao, who produces illicit herbal goods, was arrested as a result of information the food and drug regulatory agency obtained.
The Southwest Director of NAFDAC, Mrs Florence Ajayi, who led her team to the area, revealed that the arrest was made easy through the intelligence report from the people of the community.
Ajayi disclosed that as soon as the members of the Muslim Community hinted the agency of the nefarious act, the Surveillance Unit of the NAFDAC swung into action and apprehended the suspect to put an end to production of harmful and illicit drugs.
“The community here tipped our agency, made our surveillance for inspection. The aftermath of the visit shows that the environment for production is not hygienic, informed the director- general who is currently outside the country”, the director said.
The NAFDAC director pointed out that ignorance and illiteracy have been the background of wrong herbal drug processing in the country.
Speaking on the processes of registration, the Director said: “There are three processes to registration including documentation with payment, laboratory analysis and report for approval, but as I speak there is no application for registration at all with NAFDAC’.
Confessing to the act, Ajao, the producer of At-Taqwah Multipurpose Herbal Medicine and Oladem Multi-purpose Company Limited, stated that he was surprised to be nabbed over alleged unhealthy production of herbal products.
The suspect noted that he had been operating in the area over five years, distributing successfully across the South western part of the country, including Lagos State, stressing that his products serve a cure to hypertension, fever, sex malfunctioning and other related diseases.
He said: ‘’We are producing herbal products. We distribute to Jos, Lagos and other parts of the country. I have been in this business for about five years. The name of the herbal product is At-Taqwah Herbal Product. So, it is working for fever, malaria, body pain and hypertension.
The suspect added that those who lent him the money are threatening him to return the money, saying that was why he decided to start manufacturing the product.
