Were it possible to generate statistics of casualties of counterfeit drugs, substandard foods and beverages across the nation, Nigerians would be alarmed by the huge numbers of innocent victims dispatched to their early graves every second of the day. Without a doubt, deaths through such unwholesome practices, without firing a shot, would make killings by bandits and allied criminals patter into insignificance.
Miffed by this horrific state of affairs, the House Representatives has decided to move against these merchants of death by strengthening the legal framework to frighten them off their nefarious activities. Presently, the extant laws are not harsh enough to deter offenders from the criminal activities that fetch them humongous returns.
Thus, the lower chamber has asked the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to propose amendments to existing laws with a view to imposing stricter penalties, including life imprisonment for those involved in the production and importation of fake products and heavy fines for businesses found guilty of dealing in counterfeit goods.
The resolutions were sequel to a motion of urgent importance on the need to declare a state of emergency on the proliferation of counterfeit products sponsored by Muktar Shagaya, representing Ilorin West federal constituency of Kwara state.
Leading the debate on the motion last Thursday, Shagaya noted that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) recently seized counterfeit food and pharmaceutical products worth over ₦5 billion in a raid at the notorious Cemetery Market in Aba, Abia state, highlighting the widespread nature of the menace. He expressed concern that Nigeria suffered economic losses of approximately ₦15 trillion annually due to counterfeit and substandard goods, as reported by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). He expressed the apprehension that the unchecked proliferation of fake products not only jeopardises consumer safety but also discouraged genuine investment in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
“Despite existing regulations, weak enforcement mechanisms, corruption, and the absence of stringent penalties for offenders have emboldened perpetrators to continue endangering public health”, he noted.
Consequently, the House asked the federal government to strengthen the capacity of regulatory agencies, particularly NAFDAC and SON as well as the Nigerian Customs Service by providing adequate funding, modern equipment and advanced technology for effective surveillance, detection and enforcement. The lawmakers also asked government to establish a special task force comprising security agencies, regulatory bodies, and the judiciary to fast-track investigations and prosecution of individuals and businesses involved in counterfeiting.
The resolutions of the House came at the same time that the NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, called for death penalty for dealers in fake products. Her advocacy followed Friday’s destruction of counterfeit and expired drugs, unwholesome processed foods and sub-standard products from the South-south zone worth N4.7 billion at the dumpsite in Aluu, Ikwerre local government area of Rivers state.
The representative of the DG, South-south zone, Chukwuma Oligbu, who supervised the bonfire, said that if the products were allowed to escape into the market,` they could cause untold harm, including treatment failures, drug resistance, prolonged illnesses, and even loss of lives.
However, Prof. Adeyeye was not the first NAFDAC DG to call for a stiffer sanction against the perpetrators of the crime. In 2009, Dr. Paul Orhii, revealed that a proposed bill on fake product trade was in the offing and would be presented to the National Assembly for debate.
According to Dr. Orhii, the proposed law would advocate a death penalty or life imprisonment for manufacturers and distributors of fake drugs, especially in situation where it is determined that such medicines proximately caused death or severe bodily injury.
“We will also seek to provide in the new law, a cause of action for victims of counterfeit drugs and actively encourage and assist victims gather evidence to enable them successfully sue manufacturers and distributors of these deadly products for adequate compensation and punitive damages to serve as deterrent to others,” D. Orhii had assured.
There is no doubt that due to huge returns on investments, the markets attract unscrupulous individuals and quacks whose sole motives are to make heavy cash at the expense of the health of their fellow citizens. The menace has become so phenomenal that several countries around the world have since embarked on varying strategies to contain it. We recall the near-death encounter the former DG, Dr. Dora Akunyili, had when she was attacked in her car by members of the fake drug cartel on December 26, 2003, while travelling to Anambra state for her audacity to sanitise the system. She was fortunate her headgear took the bullet.
It is sad to note that Nigeria has particularly been on the receiving end of this deadly business for decades. It is one of the Third World countries regarded as a fecund land for the business of fake and expired drugs as well as drugs that have been banned in their countries of manufacture. In fact, it is public knowledge that some pharmaceutical outfits in connivance with criminal minded importers deliberately set out to manufacture very low quality drugs specifically for export to Nigeria. In the same vein, expired drugs are repackaged and fitted with new expiry dates for sale to unsuspecting Nigerians. These types of drugs are readily available in the open drug markets and some registered drug outlets owned by pharmacists and patent medicine owners.
Although no one knew what became of the bill pushed by Dr. Orhii, the good news is that the renewed move to put in place stiffer sanctions is originating from the lawmakers themselves. Blueprint enjoins them to see the process through. A desperate ailment demands a desperate cure. Fake and adulterated products are like the falling sky that spares no one, including the lawmakers. These murderers should not be treated with kid’s gloves. Nigeria will be better off without such criminal elements in the midst of its citizens.