The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has accused popular social media personality Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, of spreading false information capable of inciting public defiance against its operations.
The agency’s reaction follows a widely circulated video in which the activist alleged that NAFDAC officials demanded ₦700,000 from traders at Bridge Head Market in Onitsha, Anambra State, before their shops would be reopened after recent enforcement raids.
NAFDAC’s Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, released a statement on Monday condemning Otse’s remarks and describing them as “inciting and misleading.” She added that law enforcement agencies have been formally notified to determine if the influencer’s actions violate the Cybercrime Act.
“In the meantime, what this perpetrator has done is that he has openly told his audience to defy the regulatory processes of NAFDAC following the enforcement operation carried out under the Office of the National Security Adviser,” she said.
Prof. Adeyeye defended the recent raids as part of ongoing efforts to eliminate fake, expired, and unregistered drugs from circulation. The agency disclosed that between February and March 2025, it seized counterfeit medical products worth over ₦1 trillion from major drug markets in Lagos, Aba, and Onitsha.
She noted that most shops targeted during the enforcement drive had failed to meet basic regulatory standards and lacked evidence of registration. “All the warehouses, shops, and parking stores in the three Open Drug Markets did not meet the minimum requirements… More importantly, there was no proof of registration… a clear contravention/violation of the pertinent extant law of the federation.”
According to her, the market closure was temporary, and Bridge Head Market was reopened on March 9 after meeting NAFDAC’s screening requirements. Over 2,500 traders with 3,500 shops have since resumed operations under strict oversight. “It is pertinent to note that the remaining few shops whose owners have refused to come forward for identification are the ones with outrightly banned narcotics, according to our database. The cartel, along with their co-conspirators, are the ones creating incitements to divert attention from the real issues.”
NAFDAC further accused certain traders and their allies of attempting to use social media influence to resist oversight and mislead the public. “The merchants of death who are responsible for fueling insecurity and peddling fake medicines in Nigeria will be fished out and dealt with by the law,” the DG warned.
She urged the public to support regulatory institutions rather than fall for social media narratives designed to derail health reforms.
Prof. Adeyeye also reiterated that all affected traders have been directed to relocate to Coordinated Wholesale Centers (CWCs), where their activities will be strictly monitored in accordance with national law. “We will continue to provide assurances that these commodities are well monitored to avoid the deaths of pregnant women and children and to improve the quality of life and life expectancy of the citizenry while reducing the incidence of untimely deaths of adults living with chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.”
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