Aphrodisiacs: NAFDAC Shutdowns Shops in Abuja

By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has shut down two shops in Abuja for allegedly selling unapproved products to Nigerians.

The shops were located in the Zuba Central motor park and Utako main market.

Some of the unregistered products being sold, which were said to be aphrodisiacs, included “Hajiya Ayesha Snuff, AK47, Bulletproof, and Hajiya Aysha Maisanda.”

The operation followed intelligence reports received about the shops.

Tamanuwa Baba, Deputy Director of the Investigation and Enforcement directorate at NAFDAC, revealed that laboratory analysis conducted on the products indicated that they contained a potentially harmful chemical substance called Pyridine.

He noted that the sellers of the products claimed they were meant to boost sexual performance and that some were allegedly manufactured in Ghana.

The sales representative at the Zuba shop has been apprehended while the shop owner is away.

Baba revealed that investigations will begin immediately and the unregistered products will be destroyed once the investigation is completed.

He added that similar products were also discovered in a shop at Utako known as Kabo Investment Limited.

Baba expressed concern that the unapproved products have flooded the Nigerian market, with similar operations having been conducted in Sokoto where some of the products were removed from a shop.

He emphasised that Pyridine, which is contained in some of these products, can cause cancer, skin irritation, and even death.