By Peter Adelowo
The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has called for stiffer penalties for drug peddlers.
This is contained in a statement signed by the agency’s resident media consultant, Mr Olusayo Akintola, in Abuja.
The statement calls for the introduction of death penalty for drug peddlers, especially those whose actions result in the death of children.
“These set of people are merchants of death, who prioritise making huge money at the expense of other people’s lives.”
According to the statement, the NAFDAC boss emphasises that only severe penalties will effectively deter drug peddlers, especially those selling harmful substandard medication.
It cites the case of a person, who imports a high dose of Tramadol, which could cause severe harm or death, but gets only a minimal sentence of five years in prison or a fine of N250,000.
“Who wouldn’t pay a fine of N250,000 and go on to commit the same offence? That’s part of our issue, there are no stringent measures in place to prevent repeat offences,” Adeyeye adds.
The statement explains that lawmakers had promised to partner with NAFDAC to make penalties for drug peddling far more severe, adding that NAFDAC will continue to work tirelessly to address these issues.
It stresses that the agency was struggling with limited number of staffers and resources, stressing that, the agency only had not less than 2,000 employees nationwide.”
It states that inadequate number of staffers has caused significant challenges for the agency, especially in the area of enforcement.
“We are understaffed, and our funding is limited. I hope things will improve, so we can strengthen our efforts,” she adds.
