Merchants of illicit drugs in Nigeria may henceforth be paying with their lives when arrested, as the the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC) has called for death penalty as the ultimate punishment for fake drug peddling.
Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, reiterated the call for stiffer penalty at the weekend, for merchants of death in society who prioritise making huge illicit money at the expense of lives of their fellow human beings.
She insisted that it is only the introduction of death penalty that can discourage drug peddlers from continuing in their heinous act, particularly those whose actions result in the death of children.
Prof. Adeyeye, made this remark at a programme at the weekend, where she emphasised that only severe penalties would effectively deter drug peddlers, especially those selling harmful substandard medications.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that counterfeiting of any product is a crime. It maintains that counterfeiting of pharmaceutical is a particularly serious criminal offence and handling such counterfeit is an unethical practice because it endangers human health.
The global health agency highlights varying health hazards of counterfeit products to include ineffectiveness of drugs, serious damage to health and even death.
The WHO insists that counterfeiting of medicine is unacceptable since such products are not manufactured and packaged properly under controlled channels and are not subject to establish safeguards provided by drug regulation, quality assurance, GMP and inspection
The NAFDAC DG cited the case of a person importing a highly dangerous dose of tramadol, which could cause severe harm or death, yet only receiving a minimal sentence of five years in prison or a fine of N250,000.
“Who wouldn’t pay a fine of N250,000 and go on to commit the same offense? That’s part of our issue—there are no stringent measures in place to prevent repeat offenses,” Adeyeye added. The lawmakers have promised to partner with NAFDAC to make penalties for drug peddling far more severe.
While NAFDAC works tirelessly to address these issues, Adeyeye also highlighted the agency’s struggle with limited staffing and resources. With just around 2,000 employees nationwide (equivalent to one NAFDAC staff serving 119,000 citizens, based on 238 million population), the agency faces significant challenges in carrying out its enforcement duties.
“We are understaffed, and our funding is limited. I hope things will improve so we can strengthen our efforts,” she said.
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