Mary Nnah in Lagos and David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has reaffirmed her stance on the imposition of the death penalty on fake drug dealers.

Adeyeye, who spoke whole on Arise Primetime, emphasised that these illicit traders were “merchants of death” who prioritise profits over human lives.

Adeyeye argued that the current penalties for fake drug peddlers were too lenient, as such the proposed death penalty.

“Somebody violated the NAFDAC rule, the medicine can kill somebody, and you give that person five years in jail or #250,000 fine. To me, that’s weak,” she said, adding: “We’ve got to strengthen or make the penalty very stiff.”

Adeyeye, however, insisted that the death penalty was necessary to deter fake drug dealers.

“It is all about deterrence,” she said, adding: “If somebody kills another person and that person is not repentant, maybe that person should be killed also.”

The NAFDAC Director-General, who also addressed concerns about wrongful convictions, said, “Well, actually, in terms of the use of bad medicine, we have laboratories. We can also not just rely on our laboratory.

“We can do interlaboratory proficiency testing. We send it to other labs.  It is science. Science doesn’t lie. If it is there that this medicine or this particular product has nothing inside it, that’s not a wrongful conviction. It is a deserving conviction.”

Highlighting the importance of strategic partnerships in combating the menace of fake drugs, she said, “Out of our national action plan is having a strategic partnership.

“We have signed an MOU with Customs. We are working closer now than ever with Customs… It’s a strategic partnership.”

NAFDAC also recently signed an MOU with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

“We have signed an MOU with the NDLEA so that we work together and put Nigeria first. Nigeria first, not NAFDAC first, not Customs first.

“Our motto in NAFDAC is customer-focused and agency-minded. You are customer-focused, agency-minded and means you love Nigeria. And you love Nigeria, you love your fellow human being,” she said.

Adeyeye’s stance on the death penalty for fake drug dealers has sparked debate, with some arguing it was too harsh.

She’s however doubled down in her commitment to protecting Nigerian lives from the scourge of fake drugs.

NAFDAC Raids Onitsha Drug Market, Confiscates Fake, Expired Products

Meanwhile,  the  adency raided the popular drug market at the Niger Bridge Head, Onitsha, Anambra State, confiscating large quantities of suspected substandard, adulterated and expired drugs.

The South East Zonal Director of NAFDAC, Dr. Martins Iluyomade, who led the operation took the traders by surprise as they moved from shop to shop and removed a wide range of drugs.

Products found to have been faked and counterfeited include antibiotics, anti-hypertensive, anti-diabetic, anti-asthmatic, aphrodisiacs, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, herbal remedies and psychoactive drugs.

The enforcement team also discovered banned drugs on sale. They included; analgin, tramadol (above 100 mg), gentamycin (280 mg), codeine and controlled substances, vaccines, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, chemicals and unwholesome food, empty plastics, bags and cans, among others.

Iluyomade who addressed journalists afterwards said: “What triggered the exercise is that over time, we have been collating data and gathering intelligence on fake and substandard drugs in the markets, and we discovered that people are repackaging and re-bagging fake and counterfeit drugs in the market.

“The exercise is aimed at riding the markets of fake and substandard drugs and those that are made up of spurious, counterfeited and falsified medicinal products, unwholesome processed products and several other unsafe regulated drugs.

“This is taking place simultaneously across the South-East states, and it is aimed at sanitizing the drug markets and safeguarding the health of members of the unsuspecting public.

“Among the drugs are expired, banned, substandard, defective, repackaged and recalled products. We found out that some of the drug dealers are in the habit of imitating some popular drugs and pouring it into containers of the original manufacturer in order to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.

“And these drugs are very sensitive that can lead to death or permanent disability of the consumer. The confiscation of the products would eliminate the risk of their reintroduction into the market and a proof of the agency’s resolve to safeguard the health of the people.”

Iluyomade said the exercise was in line with the agency’s mandate of eradicating fake, banned and other spurious NAFDAC-regulated products from circulating in Nigeria and to prevent members of the unsuspecting public from falling victim.

He said the agency was working in collaboration with the market task force, and advised members of the public to patronize only licensed and registered drug outlets, saying that security operatives and the investigative team of the agency, as well as other stakeholders, are on the ground monitoring and ensuring that the enforcement goes smoothly.