The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has called for the introduction of death penalty for drug peddlers, particularly those whose actions result in the death of children.
The Director General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye made the call while featuring on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Friday.
She stressed that only severe penalties would effectively deter drug peddlers, especially those selling harmful substandard medications.
She shared a troubling example from a recent finding where children’s medicine was sold at N13,000, while a counterfeit version was sold for just N3,000 in the same mall.
According to the DG, the medicine was found to contain no active ingredient when tested at NAFDAC’s laboratory in Kaduna.
Expressing her frustration with the growing issue, Adeyeye noted that someone does not need to put a gun to a child’s head to harm them. “Just give them bad medicine, and that child’s life can be destroyed,” she stated.
Adeyeye stressed the need for cooperation between the judiciary, the National Assembly, and NAFDAC to enforce stricter laws.
The NAFDAC DG emphasized that the agency cannot combat substandard and falsified medicines in isolation.
She explained that without strong deterrents, the menace of drug peddling will continue.
Adeyeye identified the agency’s struggle with limited staffing and resources, as other challenges confronting it, in its bid to aggress the issue of drug peddling.
“With just around 2,000 employees nationwide, the agency faces significant challenges in carrying out enforcement
“We are understaffed, and our funding is limited. I hope things will improve so we can strengthen our efforts,” she added.
