Nollywood actress and producer Mary Remmy Njoku has voiced serious concerns about the quality of medications in Nigeria, especially in relation to possible circulation of fake drugs.
In a candid Instagram post on Tuesday, Njoku recounted her experience with food poisoning while on a film set. She explained that she had taken Imodium, an anti-diarrheal medication, which was purchased from one of Nigeria’s biggest pharmacy chains. Despite using the drug for three days, her symptoms persisted.
What alarmed her even more was the immediate relief she experienced after taking a tiny tablet of the same medication, which her husband had bought abroad. Within just five minutes, she began to feel better—raising doubts about the authenticity and potency of the locally sourced version.
Mary Njoku, who is also a mother of three, urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to urgently investigate the situation, highlighting the potential public health risks associated with fake or substandard medications in the country.
Let me share a recent experience: I had a bit of food poisoning on a set. Sent a staff to buy Imodium from the arguably one of the biggest pharmacy chains in Nigeria. A medication I’ve used many times before. I took it for three days straight, and nothing changed. The symptoms didn’t stop,” she wrote.
Then my husband returned from a trip and gave me a tiny tablet of the same Imodium. this time from abroad. I took it, and within five minutes, my stomach calmed down. Just five minutes!”
This isn’t my first time noticing this kind of difference. So I have to ask: What exactly are we being sold in Nigeria? What’s going on with our drugs? This is a public health risk and NAFDAC must take it seriously. This is dangerous.”
