The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed two shops in Abuja for allegedly selling unapproved aphrodisiacs to unsuspecting Nigerians.
The shops are located in the Zuba Central motor park and Utako main market.
According to the Deputy Director, Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, NAFDAC, Mr. Tamanuwa Baba, the operation followed intelligence reports received about the shops.
He revealed that some of the unregistered aphrodisiacs are “Hajiya Ayesha Snuff, AK47, Bulletproof and Hajiya Aysha Maisanda.”
“The products are meant to boost sexual performance and some were said to have been manufactured in Ghana.
“NAFDAC laboratory analysis indicates that these products contain a chemical substance called Pyridine which is potentially harmful to the human body.
“We found a lot of unregistered products in the two shops. We will begin immediate investigations.”
Baba said that the agency has apprehended the sales representative in the Zuba shop pending when the owner of the shop will return from his journey.
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He said, “We will get in touch with the owner of the shop to find out where he is sourcing these products from. But from the label on the products, some of them were allegedly manufactured in Ghana.
“What the sellers are saying is that these products usually make them high and some said that they are used as aphrodisiacs.
“After the investigation, these products are going to be destroyed because they have not been registered by us.
He said similar set of products were also discovered in a shop in Utako, known as Kabo Investment Limited.
Baba noted that it was scary that some of the products have flooded the Nigerian market and are fast spreading because the agency conducted a similar operation in Sokoto State, where some of the products were removed from a shop.
“I can tell you that Pyridine which is the chemical that is contained in some of these products can cause cancer, skin irritation and even lead to death.
According to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, pyridine is a colourless liquid with an unpleasant smell.
The centre explained that it can be made from crude coal tar or from other chemicals and is used to dissolve other substances.
“It is also used to make many different products such as medicines, vitamins, food flavourings, paints, dyes, rubber products, adhesives, insecticides, and herbicides. Pyridine can also be formed from the breakdown of many natural materials in the environment.
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet warned that breathing in the colourless substance can irritate the nose and throat causing coughing and wheezing, and may damage the liver and kidneys, as well as affect the brain.
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