NAFDAC Proposes Death Penalty For Drug Traffickers In Nigeria

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has suggested implementing the death penalty for individuals involved in drug trafficking.

The Director-General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, stated that only severe penalties can effectively deter drug traffickers, particularly in cases that result in the deaths of children.

Adeyeye referenced a specific incident involving a drug dealer who sold 225mg of Tramadol, a substance capable of causing fatal harm and severe brain damage, yet received only a five-year prison sentence or a fine. She expressed concern that allowing such leniency poses a significant issue.

She pointed out that current laws in the country lack stringent measures to prevent repeat offences.

Furthermore, she emphasized that the agency is collaborating with the National Assembly to ensure that penalties are significantly increased.

“Somebody bought children’s medicine for ₦13,000 or something like that, another person was selling about ₦3,000 in the same mall,” the NAFDAC chief said on Friday’s edition of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

“That raised an alarm. Guess what? There was nothing inside that medicine when we tested it in our Kaduna lab. So, I want the death penalty.

“Because you don’t need to put a gun on the head of a child before you kill that child. Just give that child bad medicine,” Adeyeye added.

The Director General of NAFDAC is diligently seeking to collaborate with the judiciary and the National Assembly to realize this initiative. She highlighted the agency’s readiness to partner with legislators and other pertinent stakeholders on this matter.

“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 ₦250,000. Who doesn’t know that that person will go to the ATM and get ₦250,000?

“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.