The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has called for the death penalty for individuals involved in the sale of counterfeit drugs, especially those that result in fatalities.
Speaking on The Morning Brief, a Channels Television program, on Friday, Adeyeye emphasized that only severe punishments could serve as an effective deterrent to drug peddlers who knowingly distribute substandard and falsified medicines.
She cited an alarming case where a children’s medication was being sold at a significantly reduced price in a shopping mall, prompting further investigation.
“Somebody bought children’s medicine for about N13,000, while another person was selling it for around N3,000 in the same mall,” she said.
“That raised an alarm. Guess what? When we tested the medicine in our Kaduna lab, there was nothing inside. So, I want the death penalty. You don’t need to put a gun to a child’s head to kill them—just give them bad medicine.”
Adeyeye stressed the need for legislative backing and judicial cooperation to impose stricter penalties, arguing that the current legal framework was too lenient.
“You cannot fight substandard and falsified medicines in isolation. The agency can only do so much, but if there is no deterrent, there will be a problem,” she noted.
Highlighting the inadequacy of existing punishments, she referenced an instance where a suspect was caught importing a dangerously high dose of Tramadol, yet the maximum sentence was only five years in prison or a fine of N250,000.
“Someone brought in 225mg of Tramadol, which can kill a person or fry their brain, and the punishment is just five years in prison or a fine of N250,000. Who doesn’t know that a person can simply withdraw N250,000 from an ATM?” she queried.
To curb the circulation of dangerous drugs, the NAFDAC boss reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to working with the National Assembly to strengthen drug laws.
“Our judicial system must be strong enough. We are working with the National Assembly to make our penalties much stiffer,” she stated. “But if you kill a child with bad medicine, you deserve to die.”
NAFDAC has consistently warned against the dangers of counterfeit medications and continues to push for policies that will protect public health, particularly vulnerable groups like children
