Sophia Eberechukwu Okoye, a young entrepreneur from Anambra State, who owns a boutique in Onitsha, has taken legal action against the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). She claims that soldiers allegedly deployed by the agency looted her store during a raid at the Onitsha drug market, popularly known as Ogbo Ogwu.
In a notice of legal action issued by her legal representative, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor of I. C. Ejiofor & Co. law firm, Ms. Okoye is seeking N22 million in compensation, which she asserts is the verified value of the goods taken from her shop.
Reports indicate that Ms. Okoye expressed her distress after losing goods valued at over N15 million due to the purported looting by the soldiers. Her boutique, which had opened just a few months prior, was one of many shops that were reportedly broken into and ransacked during the operation.
Sources reveal that the thieves stole clothes, shoes, and other valuable items from the boutique, leaving Ms. Okoye and other affected traders to shoulder significant losses.
"The shop was discovered 24 hours after NAFDAC withdrew its soldiers on March 7, 2025," a human rights organisation, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), told SaharaReporters.
"Evidence, including video clips and CCTV footage, links NAFDAC to the looting. The agency's break-in and ransacking of the shop were even sealed with NAFDAC's insignia."
Items reported missing from Ms. Okoye’s boutique include a range of Turkish clothing, Chinese jeans, versatile trousers, and Italian sandals, with the total value exceeding N15 million, SaharaReporters has learned.
This incident raises further alarms regarding NAFDAC’s activities in the Onitsha Drug Market.
In video footage shared with SaharaReporters, Ms. Okoye was seen in distress, tears streaming down her face as she displayed her shop, now completely stripped of all its inventory.
Ejiofor, in the legal notice, mentioned that the...
“Security operatives stationed at the Ogbo Ogwu Bridge Head Market to guard the market within this period it was under total lock-up, had rather than operate within their operational guideline, were clandestinely engaged in mass looting of shops in the market particularly shops whose businesses have no affiliation whatsoever with drugs, fake or otherwise.
“Our client’s shop located at Shop 1 Ibese Line Ogbo Ogwu Head Bridge Market, was vandalized by these operatives, and goods worth millions of naira brazenly looted by these operatives.
“Inventory of these goods carted away from our client’s shop, and purchasing receipts of substantial part of these goods indicating the prices they were bought and brands of the stolen items, are herewith attached for your ease of reference.
“It is clear from the lists of the missing goods, and purchasing receipts which clearly identified the goods carted away as mainly wears, shoes, belts and clothes; that our client’s goods have no affiliation, semblance or connection with drugs, neither is she trading on any type of drugs or even storing same in her shop.
“Further emerged facts as clearly captured in a video clip taken by our client, clearly established that our client’s shop was vandalized and carefully looted, as no scintilla of evidence was available to suggest the discovery of incriminating substance or drugs in our client’s shop, neither was she invited before her shop was burgled by those whose original mandate was to protect the shop.
“It is heartbreaking to note that this mindboggling criminality happened during this period of crushing economic downturn, which has ostensibly placed our client in a very difficult economic situation.
“We are not aware of any statutory provision or extant law(s) that empowered security operatives to break into citizen’s shop and steal therefrom.”
The lawyer further stated, “It is against the backdrop of the foregoing that we most respectfully urge you, to take every legitimate step towards settlement of this verified value of the total goods carted away from our client’s shop, to enable our client return to her business.
“Take Notice therefore, that if at the expiration of one month from the date of receipt of this letter, and our foregoing demand is not met, we shall not hesitate to explore the appropriate legal remedy available to our client in the prevailing circumstance.
“May we also emphasize that this correspondence shall equally serve as a pre-action notice to the Agency, to validate any further legal action we may wish to take on behalf of our client whose details and particulars of claim have been sufficiently stated herein.”
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