The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has called for the death penalty for drug peddlers, particularly those involved in the distribution of substandard and falsified medicines.
NAFDAC Director-General, Mojisola Adeyeye, made the proposal on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief. She emphasized that only severe penalties would deter offenders, especially when their actions lead to the deaths of innocent children.
Adeyeye recounted a recent incident where children’s medicine, sold at a suspiciously low price, was found to contain no active ingredients. She stressed that providing harmful or ineffective medicine is equivalent to murder and should be treated as such.
Highlighting the inadequacy of current penalties, she pointed out that some offenders receive as little as five years in prison or a fine of N250,000, which she described as an insignificant deterrent. She urged the judiciary and the National Assembly to enforce stricter measures to prevent the circulation of dangerous drugs.
NAFDAC is actively working with lawmakers to strengthen existing laws and ensure that penalties reflect the gravity of these crimes. Adeyeye concluded that anyone responsible for the death of a child due to fake medicine should face the ultimate penalty.
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