Court Dismisses Illegal Drug Dealers’ Suit Against PCN, NSCDC
A Federal High Court in Calabar has thrown out a fundamental rights enforcement suit brought by alleged illegal medicine dealers against the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, delivering a significant legal victory to the two regulatory and security agencies.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of Federal High Court 1, Calabar, dismissed suit number FHC/CA/FHR/39/2025 filed by Ezea Isidora Kamchukwube and her business associates, ruling that the applicants failed to establish that their fundamental rights were violated in any manner by the respondents.
“The applicants have failed to substantiate their claims against the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria and other respondents. Therefore, the case has been dismissed,” Justice Ojukwu declared in her judgment.
The claimants had approached the court alleging that officials of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria and the NSCDC unlawfully infringed on their fundamental rights and arbitrarily sealed their pharmaceutical premises. They sought damages for the alleged violations.
However, the court found no merit in those claims.
Legal Officer of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, Mr. Mfena Gar, who served as counsel for the defendants, told journalists in Calabar on Tuesday that the fundamental rights suit was a direct offshoot of a pending criminal matter in which the applicants stood accused.
“We were sued as the first respondent in the fundamental human rights matter. In an enforcement of fundamental human rights matter filed by the applicants, which is a defendant in the criminal matter. Today we had the judgment delivered in our favour,” Gar stated.
Gar further disclosed that investigations by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria had uncovered that the applicants, who are not licensed pharmacists, were operating two illegal pharmacies within Calabar. The premises were found to be stocked with various classes of prescription medicines without any valid registration or licence from the PCN, a clear breach of Nigeria’s pharmacy laws and public health regulations.
“The court held that they have not been able to prove that their fundamental rights were indeed infringed by the respondents in this matter and accordingly dismissed the matter,” Gar added.
Following the discovery, the PCN sealed both premises, effected arrests, and commenced criminal prosecution. The respondents in the fundamental rights suit included the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, the NSCDC Abuja headquarters, and the NSCDC Cross River State Command.
The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, established under the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria Act, is the statutory body mandated to regulate the practice of pharmacy and the distribution of medicines across Nigeria. Operating pharmaceutical premises without PCN registration is a criminal offence under Nigerian law and poses serious public health risks, given the dangers of unregulated access to prescription drugs.
Separately, in the related criminal matter with suit number FHC/CA/76C/2025, between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Ezea Isidora Kamchukwube, Justice Ojukwu adjourned proceedings until June 1, 2026, to hear and rule on an application brought by the accused’s counsel.