Trader sues NAFDAC N110m for allegedly ‘looting’ her shop at Onitsha drug market

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

ONITSHA – Ms. Sophia Eberechukwu Okoye, a trader in clothing materials at the Bridgehead drug market, Onitsha (Ogbo Ogwu) has filed a N110 million civil suit against the National Agency for Food, Drugs and Administration and Control, NAFDAC, and its Director-General, D-G, for allegedly looting her clothing materials shop at the Ogbo Ogwu Market.

She alleged that her shop was looted by the NAFDAC officials and other security agencies guarding them during the recent mop-up exercise of fake, expired, unwholesome and substandard drugs in the market.

In the Suit No FHC/AWK/CS/162/2025, filed on her behalf by her legal counsel, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor Esq, Okoye is demanding among others, payment of N100 million as general and exemplary damages, another N10 million being cost of litigation of this suit or any other order (s) this honourable court may seem fit to make in the circumstances of this case.

The plaintiff is also demanding the return of all the looted items, including boxers, singlets, polos, jeans, nickers, shirts, shorts, and joggers, estimated at N15,760,000 or in the alternative, return this amount in cash to her.

The suit, which was filed at the Federal High Court Registry in Awka on May 22, followed the expiration of a one-month ultimatum given to NAFDAC to respond to a pre-action notice filed by the plaintiff sometime in March this year.

As the plaintiff await a date for commencement of hearing of the N110 million civil suit, the plaintiff counsel, Sir Ejiofor Esq in a press statement accompanying the suit, said he would pursue the case against NAFDAC and it’s Director-General to a logical conclusion because according to him, in every just and democratic society, the rule of law is sacrosanct.

According to Ejiofor who is also a leading counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, “No agency, regardless of its mission – has the right to operate outside the legal boundaries that define its existence. The recent events at Ogbo-Ogwu Bridge Head Market in Onitsha are a shameful testament to what happens when institutions betray this fundamental principle”.

“The now-viral footage of Ms. Sophie Eberechukwu Okoye – a young trader devastated after her shop was unlawfully broken into and looted – has shocked the conscience of the nation. Her store, which sells clothes, watches, and fashion accessories, had no connection whatsoever to pharmaceuticals, yet it was targeted in a wave of looting allegedly carried out by a joint task force deployed under NAFDAC’s authority”.

“What took place was not enforcement – it was lawlessness. This was not regulation – it was organised pillage. Armed with a mandate to protect, these operatives instead unleashed terror on innocent citizens, looting and decimating livelihoods without just cause”.

“This is unacceptable. However, upon the expiration of the statutory period for the pre-action notice served on NAFDAC, we have formally commenced a legal action against NAFDAC at the Federal High Court, Awka, demanding full accountability and redress for Ms. Sophie, a victim of this gross abuse of power”.

“But this is bigger than one victim or one case. What occurred at Ogbo-Ogwu appears to be part of a systemic pattern of misconduct, looting, and impunity. We are calling on both the Federal Government and the Anambra State Government to immediately set up an independent investigative panel to audit the entire operation, identify all culprits, and ensure they face justice”.

“We support NAFDAC’s mandate to rid our markets of fake drugs – but no mission, however noble, justifies trampling upon the rights and dignity of innocent Nigerians. Justice cannot and must not be collateral damage. A government that punishes the innocent while claiming to protect the public has failed its people. Every agency must be reminded: they serve under the law, not above it”.

Today it’s Sophie. Tomorrow, it could be you. That’s why we must demand accountability, uphold the rule of law, and resist tyranny in all forms. We will not be silenced. We will not back down. Justice must be done – and seen to be done”.

“#JusticeForSophie.#NAFDACMustAccount.#RuleOfLaw.#EndOfficialLawlessness#ProtectNigerians#StopTheLooting.#GovernmentByLaw#AccountabilityNow#SayNoToImpunity#OgboOgwutragedy#HumanRightsMatter#DueProcessFirst#WeDemandJustice”.