The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has expressed that only stiffer measures will deter people from carrying out the illicit act while the agency has proposed the death penalty for drug peddlers.
According to the agency’s Director-General, Mojisola Adeyeye, only heavy sanctions would dissuade peddlers, especially when it results in the death of children.
“Somebody bought children’s medicine for N13,000 or something like that; another person was selling about N3,000 in the same mall,” the NAFDAC chief said on Friday during a media interview.
“That raised an alarm. Guess what? There was nothing inside that medicine when we tested it in our Kaduna lab. So, I want the death penalty.
“Because you don’t need to put a gun on the head of a child before you kill that child. Just give that child bad medicine,” Adeyeye said.
The NAFDAC DG is also seeking the support of the judiciary and the National Assembly to make such a proposal a reality. According to her, the agency is willing to work with lawmakers and other stakeholders on the issue.
“You can’t combat substandard, fraudulent drugs alone. “The agency can do everything it can, but if there is no deterrent, there will be a problem,” she explained.
“Someone brought in 225mg of Tramadol, which can kill anyone and fry the brain, and you gave a sentence of five years in prison or N250,000. Who doesn’t know that somebody is going to the ATM and withdrawing N250,000?
“That is part of our problem. There are no strict measures to deter [people] from repeating the same thing. We can do as much as we can, but if our law is not strong enough, or the judiciary is not strong enough to stand up, we’re going to have a problem.
“So, our judiciary system must be strong enough. But we are working with the National Assembly to make our penalties very stiff. But if you kill a child with bad medicine, you deserve to die,” she said.
Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, inspects various items at a news briefing on “dangerous” unapproved herbal goods in Abuja on Monday, June 19, 2023.
While NAFDAC faces numerous challenges in combating drug trafficking, Adeyeye lamented the agency’s staffing scarcity.
She feels that with approximately 2,000 employees nationwide and an insufficient budget, NAFDAC is constrained in carrying out its activities.
“So, in terms of staffing, you’re spot on. We are understaffed, and I am expecting things will improve,” the NAFDAC DG stated.
