The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has called for the death penalty for drug peddlers, especially those whose actions lead to the deaths of children
NAFDAC’s Director-General, Mojisola Adeyeye, made this known on The Morning Brief, a Channels Television program aired on Friday. She emphasized that only severe punishments would serve as a deterrent to individuals selling counterfeit and substandard drugs.
“Somebody bought children’s medicine for N13,000, while another person was selling it for N3,000 in the same mall,” Adeyeye said. “That raised an alarm. Guess what? When we tested it in our Kaduna lab, there was nothing inside that medicine. So, I want the death penalty. Because you don’t need a gun to kill a child—just give them bad medicine.”
She urged the judiciary and National Assembly to collaborate with NAFDAC to enforce stricter penalties, arguing that lenient sentences encourage repeat offenses.
“You cannot fight substandard, falsified medicine in isolation,” she stated. “Someone brought in 225mg of Tramadol, which can fry the brain, and they were sentenced to just five years in prison or fined N250,000. That person can simply withdraw N250,000 from an ATM and continue their business.”
Adeyeye stressed the need for stronger laws and judicial enforcement to curb the menace, adding that NAFDAC is already working with the National Assembly to implement tougher penalties.
“If you kill a child with bad medicine, you deserve to die,” she declared.
She also highlighted NAFDAC’s staffing and funding challenges, noting that the agency operates with only about 2,000 employees nationwide, limiting its effectiveness.
“We are short-staffed, and I am hoping things will improve,” Adeyeye said.
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