The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has proposed the death penalty for drug peddlers.
The Director-General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, made this call on Friday while speaking during Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
She argued that only strict penalties would deter drug peddlers, especially when their actions result in the deaths of children.
“Somebody bought children’s medicine for about N13,000, while another person was selling it for around N3,000 in the same mall.
“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 said.
The NAFDAC boss also called for the cooperation of the judiciary and the National Assembly to make the proposal a reality.
According to her, the agency is open to working with lawmakers and other stakeholders on the matter.
She said, “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.
“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?
“That is part of our problem — there are no strict measures to stop offenders from repeating the same crime. We can only do so much, but if our laws are not strong enough or the judiciary is not firm in its stance, we will continue to face this challenge.
“So, our judicial system must be strong enough. We are working with the National Assembly to make our penalties much stiffer. But if you kill a child with bad medicine, you deserve to die.”
