The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has called for the death penalty for individuals involved in drug peddling, especially those responsible for producing and selling fake or substandard medicines.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, made this demand on Friday while speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief. She argued that only severe punishments would deter offenders, particularly when their actions lead to fatalities, especially among children.
Fake Drugs Are Silent Killers
Adeyeye recounted an incident where a children’s medicine was sold at N13,000 by one vendor but at N3,000 by another. When the cheaper version was tested at NAFDAC’s Kaduna laboratory, it was found to contain no active ingredients.
Expressing her frustration, she declared:
“You don’t need to put a gun to a child’s head to kill them. Just give them bad medicine. That’s why I want the death penalty.”
Weak Penalties Encouraging Drug Crimes
The NAFDAC boss also criticized lenient punishments for drug-related offenses. She cited an example where a trafficker was caught with 225mg of Tramadol, a dose capable of causing death or brain damage, yet only faced a five-year prison sentence or a fine of N250,000.
She argued that such mild penalties are ineffective deterrents, as offenders can easily afford the fines.
“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,” she lamented.
NAFDAC Seeks Legislative and Judicial Backing
Adeyeye stressed that the fight against substandard and falsified medicines requires the cooperation of the judiciary and the National Assembly. She revealed that NAFDAC is currently working with lawmakers to push for stricter laws and stiffer penalties for offenders.
“If our laws are not strong enough or the judiciary is not firm in its stance, we will continue to face this challenge. If you kill a child with bad medicine, you deserve to die.”
The proposal has sparked debates on the appropriate punishment for drug peddlers, with some supporting harsh penalties to curb the menace, while others argue for reform-based approaches.
