Nigeria grapples with rising antimicrobial resistance, prompting calls for prescription enforcement, public education, and market reforms.
World Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness Week concludes, Nigeria faces an urgent public health challenge, with experts warning that antimicrobial resistance is already a daily reality undermining the nation’s healthcare system.
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According to biochemical researcher Opeyemi Fatunbi, AMR contributed to more than 260,000 deaths in 2019 alone, with infants and underserved communities particularly vulnerable.
Experts identify widespread, unregulated over-the-counter antibiotic sales as a major driver.
From pharmacies to informal markets, powerful antibiotics such as amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and metronidazole are easily accessible without medical oversight.
Despite NAFDAC classifying these medicines as prescription-only, enforcement gaps allow misuse and fuel resistance.
“Many Nigerians self-medicate for malaria, coughs, diarrhoea, or vague body pains, often stopping antibiotic courses prematurely,” Fatunbi explained.
“Sub-therapeutic exposure allows bacteria to adapt and develop resistance, creating a perfect storm for AMR.”
Hospitals report alarming resistance rates, including 67.8 per cent for methicillin-resistant *Staphylococcus aureus* and 28.6 per cent for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, far above global averages.
An estimated 60,000 Nigerians die annually from AMR-related infections, straining healthcare resources and threatening decades of public health progress.
Fatunbi highlighted NAFDAC’s ongoing efforts, including market surveillance, public alerts on substandard drugs, and crackdowns in cities such as Lagos, Kano, and Onitsha.
Yet experts stress the need for a long-term, integrated strategy to close enforcement gaps.
Proposed measures include a national “Prescribe to Protect” campaign, a digital platform for real-time prescription verification, and tighter licensing rules for pharmacies and patent medicine vendors.
Compliance incentives, community-based monitoring units, and public education campaigns in local languages are also recommended.
“Shifting antibiotic access to regulated outlets, limiting open-market sales, and educating the public are essential to curb AMR,” Fatunbi said.
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“Bold action now is critical to protect Nigeria’s antibiotics and safeguard public health.”
Fresh concerns have emerged over compliance with a court order issued by the High Court of Kano State on April 8, 2026, restraining key parties—including the Honourable Minister of Education, the Kano State Ministry of Land and Physical Planning, the Kano State Urban Development Authority, and Pluck Global Company Limited—from further actions pending the determination of the matter before the court.
Findings indicate that while all parties—except the concessionaire, Pluck Global Company Limited—were duly served within two days of the order, significant challenges were encountered in effecting service on the company, raising troubling questions about its corporate traceability and regulatory vetting.
A review of the company’s records filed with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) revealed addresses that could not be verified as functional business locations. Notably, documentation submitted to Federal Government College (FGC), Kano, dated June 20, 2024, listed two addresses: 8B, Lalupon Street, off Keffi Street, off Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, as its head office, and 3 Bargery Road, Bompai, Kano, as its branch office.
However, a physical visit to the Ikoyi address revealed that the entire property is occupied by a company identified as Golden Alchemy, whose staff категорically denied any knowledge of, or shared occupancy with, Pluck Global Company Limited.
Efforts to trace the Kano address yielded even more unsettling findings. The location—a locked duplex—showed no visible signs of commercial activity. Neighbours, while reluctant to speak on record, alluded to irregular movements at odd hours, casting further doubt on the legitimacy of the premises as a corporate office.
In a twist, after multiple attempts to establish contact, an individual purportedly representing the company surfaced in Kano and agreed to receive and acknowledge the court order on April 11, 2026, at approximately 6:00 pm. Curiously, the Ikoyi address—already discredited—was again listed as the company’s official address in the acknowledgment.
These developments raise critical questions regarding due diligence and Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols on the part of the Federal Ministry of Education. They also cast a spotlight on the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), should a concession agreement indeed have been executed with the company. Stakeholders say it would be instructive to review the addresses contained in all official correspondences and contractual documents linked to the transaction.
Meanwhile, a visit to the premises of Federal Government College, Kano, revealed ongoing construction activity, with workers observed excavating foundations. When approached, the workers declined to disclose the authority under which they were operating—despite the subsistence of a court order restraining further action.
Notably, a previously installed project billboard bearing the insignia of the school authorities and the Federal Ministry of Education had been removed. Sources within the institution suggest that the directive for its removal may have emanated from the Ministry following receipt of the court order.
The unfolding situation presents a complex mix of legal, regulatory, and accountability issues—raising the spectre of possible non-compliance with judicial directives, as well as deeper concerns about transparency in public-private concession arrangements.
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