According to the Director-General of the According to NAFDAC Director General Mojisola Adeyeye, only severe penalties will discourage the illicit sale of pharmaceuticals, particularly when it results in child fatalities.
During Friday's Channels Television's *The Morning Brief*, she noted significant price discrepancies for children's medications, ranging from ₦13,000 to ₦3,000 within the same retail location.
Subsequent laboratory analysis in Kaduna revealed these cheaper medications to be completely inert. Therefore, she advocates for capital punishment, emphasizing that administering ineffective medication constitutes a form of child murder.
The Director General of NAFDAC is actively pursuing collaboration with the judiciary and the National Assembly to bring this initiative to fruition. She emphasized that the agency is willing to work alongside legislators and other relevant parties on this issue.
“You cannot fight substandard, falsified medicine in isolation. The agency can do as much as it can but if there is no deterrent, there’s going to be a problem,” she said.
“Somebody brought in 225mg of Tramadol that can kill anybody, fry the brain and you give a judgment of five years in prison or N250,000. Who doesn’t know that that person will go to the ATM and get N250,000?
“That is part of our problem. There are no strict measures to deter [people] from repeating the same thing. We can do as much as we can but if our law is not strong enough, or the judiciary is not strong enough to stand up, we’re going to have a problem.
“So, our judiciary system must be strong enough. But we are working with the National Assembly to make our penalties very stiff. But if you kill a child by bad medicine, you deserve to die,” she said.
‘We Are Short-Staffed’
NAFDAC faces significant challenges in combating drug trafficking, and Adeyeye has expressed concern over the agency's insufficient workforce. With approximately 2,000 employees across the country and restricted financial resources, NAFDAC is limited in its ability to effectively execute its responsibilities.
“So, when it comes to staffing, you’re right on the point. We are short-staffed and I am hoping things will be better,” the NAFDAC DG said.