The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has begun investigating the death of a National Youth Service Corps member at the orientation camp in Agwu, Enugu State, as it seeks to establish whether the medicines administered during treatment met required safety and quality standards.
The agency dismissed claims that the corps member died from the effects of substandard or falsified medicines, saying preliminary findings pointed to acute kidney injury associated with severe dehydration and shock. It stressed, however, that laboratory analysis of collected medicine samples would form part of the ongoing investigation.
In a statement issued by its Director-General, Professor Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, NAFDAC said its officials had visited the camp clinic, interviewed doctors and other healthcare workers, and collected samples of the medicines used to treat the deceased.
According to the agency, the corps member was brought to the clinic at about 9 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, by two fellow corps members with symptoms suggestive of severe malaria. He was also known to have peptic ulcer disease.
The medical team reportedly stabilised him with intramuscular antimalarial medication and other intravenous supportive treatment before placing him under observation. He was discharged the following morning with oral medication.
The corps member returned to the clinic on Saturday, October 10, complaining of pain in his right thigh and was advised to consult a physiotherapist. Concern arose when a doctor observed that he was sweating profusely and found his blood pressure to be critically low at 80/40 millimetres of mercury.
NAFDAC said he received intravenous normal saline, but repeated monitoring showed recurring episodes of low blood pressure. His urine output also remained poor despite fluid treatment, prompting a referral to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State.
He was transported in an ambulance accompanied by a doctor but reportedly slipped into a coma around the time he arrived at the teaching hospital. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
The agency added that a friend later informed the camp clinic doctor that the corps member had been vomiting for two days following his initial admission.
NAFDAC said the same medicines had been administered to several other patients at the camp clinic, who recovered after treatment. It urged the public to remain calm while investigations and laboratory tests continue, and extended its condolences to the family of the deceased.
Deborah Adeyefa
