A MIDDLE-AGED MAN identified as Friday Ogbodo has received sentenced up to seven years in prison without option of fine for falsifying Emzor paracetamol.
Ogbodo bags the sentenced after he was arraigned by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) before Justice H.A. Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State, on Tuesday.
A statement signed by the Resident Media Consultant of NAFDAC Sayo Akintola said the culprit in question was arrested earlier this year by a team of operatives from its investigation and enforcement department following credible intelligence.
Akintola noted that the convict confessed that he had been in this business of adulterating and falsifying medicines over a year.
“On 26th January 2022, he was arraigned at the Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State before Justice H.A. Nganjiwa on a two-count charge bordering on possession of Fake Maldox (Sulfadoxine and Pyrimethamine) and packaging of Emzor paracetamol in a manner that is misleading,” the statement made available to the The ICIR said.
The statement further disclosed that after Ogbodo pleaded guilty to the offense, the prosecution reviewed the facts and he was convicted on the two-count charge and sentenced to five years in prison on count one and two years in prison on count two without an option of fine.
In his ruling, Nganjiwa condemned the culprit’s actions, noting with dismay that many people could have died from ingestion of the fake maldox
.He emphasised the need for the court to send the right message to other merchants of death who were still in the dangerous line of business.C
ommending the judgment, NAFDAC Director-General Mojisola Adeyeye said the agency would not rest on its oars until those still in the business of falsifying medicines to make money at the expense of the lives of fellow Nigerians were brought to book.
She also vowed that other similar cases in court would be pursued to a logical conclusion with a view to safeguarding lives.
Adeyeye called on members of the public to always assist NAFDAC in its quest to rid the nation of fake drugs and other unwholesome food products by providing useful information that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators.
