Flavoured drink that killed 3 in Kano contained chemical used for terrorism – NAFDAC

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Sunday said its investigations have revealed that the flavoured drink that led to the death of three persons in Kano in March contained “Hyroxylamine”, a chemical used for terrorism.

Kano State had in March 2021 reported the outbreak of a strange infection initially suspected to be caused by drinking sachet water and locally processed drinks, which led to the death of three persons and hospitalisation of over 180 others.

But Mojisola Adeyeye, director general of NAFDAC, in a statement signed by its Sayo Akintola, the agency’s resident media consultant, disclosed that the chemical found in the drink did not pass through the agency as there are no records at the Chemical Evaluation and Research Directorate to suggest that permission was given to anyone to import the chemical into the country.

She added that internal checks at the Ports Inspection Directorate revealed that the chemical was not imported through the ports.

‘’Definitely, it was smuggled into the country,’’ Adeyeye said.

She noted that before any chemical can be legally imported into Nigeria, full authorization and permit must be obtained from NAFDAC to ensure that no dangerous chemicals are brought into the country and used to the detriment of the Nigerian people

“Having tested the additive chemical, it was discovered to be Hyroxylamine. It’s a poison. Sometimes its used for terrorism. This is very sad because it involved people dying,” the statement quoted her saying.

She explained that shortly after the news about the Kano incident was received by NAFDAC, six directorates of the agency immediately swung into action to unravel the mystery behind the sad event.

She added that internal checks revealed that only two of the five flavoured drinks identified in the incidence were registered by NAFDAC while three were not on the Agency’s data base.

She said samples of the chemicals and additives that were added while preparing the flavoured drinks for consumption were collected and taken to NAFDAC’s laboratory in Kaduna for testing. She said further testing was conducted at the Agency’s central laboratory in Lagos for confirmation.

‘’We have five flavoured drinks. Two were registered while three were not. Any food that is unregistered are not guaranteed by NAFDAC and could be is unwholesome. It’s fake food. It was most likely smuggled into the country, she further explained, stressing that, ‘’we tested all the food samples, and there was E-Coli bacteria in some.

“One would wonder how E-Coli bacteria would get into powder. It depends on the storage. If it’s stored in a very humid condition, and expired, the packaging probably was getting compromised, you can get bacteria into dry powdered medium. But ordinarily it shouldn’t happen’’, she said.

She however informed that all the merchants of the deadly chemicals and additives have been apprehended while further investigation continues.

The DG therefore warned Nigerians against adding chemicals and additives to food and drinks to enhance taste, stressing that such practices could result in severe illness and even death.

Adeyeye further disclosed that NAFDAC is now working assiduously in partnership with the Kano State government with a view to preventing the reoccurrence of the March 11, 2021 incident.

She said that her Agency will be working with Kano State Task force under the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods, which is domiciled in NAFDAC, and the Nigeria Consumers Protection Agency in Kano.

She added that a preliminary result of the Agency’s investigation was submitted to the Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje during her two-day visit to the state on an on-the-spot assessment of the incident.