A Federal High Court in Calabar, Cross River State, has sentenced an illegal pharmacy operator and three others to eight-and-a-half years imprisonment each for operating unregistered pharmaceutical premises and dispensing medicines without the required licences.

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu delivered the judgment after finding the defendants guilty on multiple counts related to the unlawful operation of pharmacy outlets and the use of unlicensed personnel in dispensing drugs. The court, however, acquitted them on some counts linked to the alleged unlawful unsealing of premises earlier shut by regulators.

The conviction comes amid intensified efforts by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) to sanitise the pharmaceutical sector and curb the circulation of counterfeit and substandard medicines across the country.

Recent enforcement operations have seen hundreds of pharmacies, patent medicine stores and illegal drug outlets sealed in several states. In Plateau State alone, the PCN recently shut down 572 medicine outlets for various regulatory violations, including illegal clinical practices and unauthorised handling of controlled medicines.

Meanwhile, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has raised concerns over the growing threat posed by fake and substandard drugs, warning that the proliferation of unregistered medicine outlets continues to endanger public health.

The society stressed that counterfeit medicines contribute to treatment failure, drug resistance and avoidable deaths, urging stronger enforcement of pharmaceutical regulations and greater public awareness.

Health stakeholders have advised Nigerians to obtain medicines only from registered pharmacies and licensed healthcare facilities to avoid exposure to fake and potentially harmful drugs.