Shekinah Pharmacy, Leotom, Springcare, Others Lost Over N70 Million to #ENDSARS Protest

pharmacy

-As ACPN condemns attack, tasks FG on compensation

No fewer than eight pharmacy premises were badly affected  by the #ENDSARS protest in Lagos on Wednesday, as hoodlums razed down Shekinah Pharmacy and raided stock, properties well over 70 million naira from others.

The notable pharmacies attacked were: Shekinah Pharmacy, Fagba; Leotom Pharmacy, Lekki Phase 1; MyPharmacy, Lekki; Springcare Pharmacy, Gbagada; Julie Harrison Pharmacy Ltd, Ifako, Gbagada; Healthplus, Medplus Pharmacy and Justrite Pharmacy.

While owners of some of the attacked pharmacies have got the estimated cost of their losses, some are yet to come out of the rude shock of the incidence to evaluate worth of damage done.

The national leadership of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, and Lagos State PSN, have condemned the wanton destruction of pharmacies by hoodlums, as they sued for peace and called for government intervention.

Speaking in an exclusive chat with the ACPN National Chairman, Pharm. Samuel Adekola, he expressed sadness over the incidence, while urging hoodlums to seize from attacking essential service providers, as the ripple effects may lead to more deaths in the community.

” I’m aware alot of public facilities have been damaged, but it should not be out of place for government to come to the aid of these private facilities, particularly those on essential services. With the fund setup to assuage losses due to the protest, I want to plead that government should not focus on public facilities alone, it should be extended to vandalised pharmacy premises”, he pleaded.

When our correspondent spoke with Pharm. Tolulope Ajayi, owner of Shekinah Pharmacy that was set ablaze, he gave an estimated cost of the loss to be about 15 million naira. 

He said :”Stock value at the location looted by hoodlums was N7.9m, office gadgets and equiment, N3.5m, furniture and fittings, N1.2m, some stolen cash, among others”.

For Pharm.Tom Ezewu, owner of Leotom Pharmacy, the damage done by thugs to his pharmacy can only be replaced by God, as the branch was totally vandalised.

He listed worth of vandalised items to include: ” Stock alone N10million, 2 computers,CCTV monitor, Laptops, furniture, shelves and others”.

Although Pharmanewsonline reported the attack on MyPharmacy branch at Lekki yesterday, as a follow up to the story on the degree of damage done to the branch, the pharmacist in charge, Abimbola Adebakin said the worth of loss is yet to be evaluated as at the filing of this report.

Pharm. (Mrs) Olaitan of Springcare Pharmacy and Pharm.(Mrs) Julie Harrison, of Julie Harrison Pharmacy,  were somewhat fortunate as the hoodlums couldn’t gain access to their premises, but damaged properties at their frontage.

Olaitan said:”On Wednesday 21 October, we recieved news that our premise, Springcare Pharmacy at Gbagada was torched by hoodlums. On inspection, we saw that the entire glass in the frontage of the pharmacy were broken but thankfully, access was not gained into the premise.

“While we are in full support of the #Endsars move, we condemn the hijacking of the peaceful protest by hoodlums which led to deaths and untold misery on business owners and the populace at large.Nigeria shall yet be great”, she prayed.

Harrison explained how her pharmacy escaped attack by whiskers saying: “It was my signpost that was broken.They did not gain access into the pharmacy”.

The Lagos State Chapter of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, has also sympathised with pharmacists affected in the #ENDSARS protest, praying God to give them courage to move on.

In a statement made available to Pharmanewsonline by the Secretary of the association, Pharm. Kola Sunmonu, he said: “Our heart bleeds on hearing that Shekinah Pharmacy was razed down by hoodlums in the guise of the ongoing #ENDSARS protest. 

“Also painful to note were series of attacks/burglary incidents on notable pharmacies like Medplus, MyPharmacy, Healthplus, Julie Harrison, Springcare, Leotom, Justrite and many others.

“These are indeed difficult times for us as a body of professionals and a sad period in the history of our country Nigeria.

“We join others in praying for strength, grace and the courage to move on for all those affected while we console ourselves with the gratitude that no lives were lost”, he narrated.