Trouble appears to be looming for some patent medicine dealers arrested in Delta State. Nemesis caught up with them after exposing members of the public to the dangers of consuming medicines whose quality, safety and efficacy cannot be guaranteed. There is trouble if the saying that “the greatest calamity that can befall a man is to engage in a weary labour and be caught.”
They must be gnashing their teeth in regret for commencing operations without following the laid down guidelines on the requirements for registration and licensing.
They actually took the Registrar of the Council, Elijah N. Mohammed, a pharmacist, who came on board to pronounce zero tolerance to non-registration of pharmacists and patent medicine shops, and vowed to strengthen the administrative structure of the council at the state and zonal offices to an enviable state, for granted.
It was lamentation galore, however, when officials of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), pounced on their premises and sealed up their shops that were scattered across eight towns in the state, including Asaba, Ughelli, Warri, Oleh, Ozoro, Ogwashi-Uku, Kwale and Sapele. Few weeks after they were apprehended, the Federal High Court in Asaba, the state capital, sentenced one Paul Osita, to five years imprisonment for being in possession of fake anti-malaria drugs.
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The culprit, a graduate of Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), was arrested at his residence in Asaba by operatives of the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC). He was subsequently arraigned on a seven-count charge, bothering on possession, packaging, importation, labelling and distribution of fake drugs and unregistered products. Although, Osita pleaded guilty to count one, which led to the striking out of other charges by the presiding Judge, Justice A.O. Faji, he was not lucky enough to escape the sledge-hammer of the court, which found him guilty of “fake drugs to wit: Rysovin – 500, Buscomac – 10mg, Maloxine, Lumartem, Lofnac – 100”, an offence that runs contrary to Section 1 of the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Food (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act. CAP C34 LFN 2004 and punishable under Section 3(a) of the same act.
Delivering judgment, Justice Faji sentenced the convict to five years imprisonment, which is the minimum custodian sentence for such offence as stipulated in Section 3 of the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Food (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act. CAP C34 LFN 2004.
Justice Faji averred that the fake drugs, which lacked the major anti-malaria and anti-bacteria components, have serious detrimental effects on persons as well as serious environmental impacts on the society. He wondered how many Nigerians would have been affected by the action of Osita, if he had not been apprehended.
“The graduate of Economics should be looking at ways of growing the economy of Nigeria and not increasing the population of people at the hospitals, mortuaries and cemeteries. This is an abuse of the privilege of education,” Justice Faji held.
So, armed with the core mandate of ensuring rational distribution and dispensation of medicines that are safe, effective and of good quality in line with the enabling PCN Act Cap P17, LFN, 2004, and poised with the responsibility of regulating and controlling the education, training and practice of pharmacy in all its aspects and ramifications, the PCN on Friday, May 13, said the 138 offenders, comprising 27 pharmacies and 111 patent medicine vendors, must face prosecution for exposing consumers to poisonous medicine.
By: Dominic Adewole, ASAB
New Telegraph News
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