Nollywood actress and producer Mary Remmy Njoku has raised alarm over the declining potency of pharmaceutical drugs sold in Nigeria, urging the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to investigate the rising fear of fake or substandard medications.
In a candid Instagram post shared on Tuesday, the mother of three recounted how she battled food poisoning on a film set and took Imodium—an over-the-counter anti-diarrheal—purchased from a major Nigerian pharmacy. After three days of no relief, she tried a foreign version of the same drug and was relieved in five minutes.
“Let me share a recent experience: I had a bit of food poisoning on set. I took Imodium from arguably one of the biggest pharmacy chains in Nigeria. For three days straight, nothing changed,” she wrote.
“Then my husband returned from a trip and gave me a tiny tablet of the same Imodium from abroad. I took it, and within five minutes, my stomach calmed down. Just five minutes!”
The post has sparked major concern across social media, with fans and health experts calling for urgent regulatory checks and mass testing of pharmaceutical products in Nigeria.
Mary Njoku concluded by calling NAFDAC to action: “This isn’t my first time noticing this kind of difference. What exactly are we being sold in Nigeria? This is dangerous.”
This revelation adds to growing concerns about drug quality, counterfeits, and lax enforcement in the pharmaceutical sector, especially as more Nigerians complain of ineffective medications despite purchasing from recognized pharmacies.
NAFDAC is yet to issue an official response to the claims as of the time of this report.
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