Nigerian court rules Sprite and Fanta poisonous

A high court judge in Nigeria has ruled that some popular soft drinks sold under the Coca-Cola brand could be poisonous.

Bottles and cans of Fanta and Sprite in Nigeria may soon come with written health warnings after Justice Adedayo Oyebanji ordered the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) - the local manufacturer of the soft drinks - to place labels on the beverages to inform consumers against drinking them with vitamin C, according to a CNN report citing local sources.

Coca-Cola said the claims are inaccurate and unsupported by science.

“All our products are safe and strictly adhere to regulations in the countries where they are sold while complying with our company’s stringent global safety and quality standards,” a spokesperson for Coca-Cola told the Independent.

Asked about drinks sold in the UK, Coca-Cola said: “Everywhere in the world, we review and evolve our recipes to meet the local market’s needs and tastes. All of the drinks that are sold in Great Britain are manufactured locally. Our priority is always to provide great tasting, affordable drinks with the same high level of quality regardless of where they are sold.”

The Lagos High Court ruled that high levels of benzoic acid and additives in Coca-Cola’s soft drinks could pose a health risk to consumers when mixed with ascorbic acid, commonly known as vitamin C.

The judge also gave a fine equivalent to $6,350 (£5,115) to the National Agency For Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for failing to ensure health standards.

"It is manifest that NAFDAC has been grossly irresponsible in its regulatory duties to the consumers of Fanta and Sprite manufactured by Nigeria Bottling Company," the judge said.

"NAFDAC has failed the citizens of this great nation by its certification as satisfactory for human consumption products [...] which become poisonous in the presence of ascorbic acid," he added.

The ruling was the result of a nine-year-long court battle initiated by Nigerian businessman Fijabi Adebo.

Mr Adebo’s drinks company attempted to export the drinks to the UK in 2007. However, the beverages were confiscated by UK customs and after being tested by UK health authorities they were deemed unsafe for human consumption and destroyed.

Mr Adebo then sued NBC, which had sold him the products.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Adebo said: "Initially they were flexing their muscles, which dragged [out] the process. I went to court to compel Nafdac to do its duty.

"We shouldn't have a product that is considered substandard in Europe."

NBC lawyers argued that the products were not intended for export but the defense was rejected by the judge.

"Soft drinks manufactured by Nigeria Bottling Company ought to be fit for human consumption irrespective of colour or creed," the judge said.

Both the NBC and NAFDAC are appealing against the ruling.

“Both Benzoic Acid and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) are ingredients approved by international food safety regulators and used in many food and beverage products around the world. These ingredients are also used in combination in some products within levels which may differ from one country to another as approved by the respective national food and drug regulators in line with the range prescribed by CODEX, the joint intergovernmental body responsible for harmonizing international food standards,” NBC said in a statement.

Nigeria's health ministry published a statement reassuring Nigerians that the drinks are safe for human consumption.

However it also advised all Nigerians to take medicine with potable water as this “would help to prevent unexpected drug-food interactions”. It also “encourages” all bottling companies to “insert advisory warning” on all products as necessary.

Customers took it to Twitter to express their anger and call for a boycott after the ruling was made public.

"No longer drinking Coca Cola products in Nigeria. Short story, they are not fit for consumption," Onye Nkuzi, based in Nigeria, tweeted.

"Nigerians should boycott Coca-Cola products until foreign experts come to certify their products in Nigeria safe for consumption," Henry Asede said on Twitter.

Independent

Video - Nigerian Central Bank sets new exchange rate for certain consumers

Nigeria has set a new naira exchange rate for consumers with certain foreign expenses and stepped up dollar sales on the official market to narrow the spread with the black market. Analysts doubted whether the moves would draw investors back to the suffering economy. The regulator said Nigerians can now get the dollar at N360 across all commercial banks within the country. Nigeria is battling a currency crisis brought on by low oil prices. The prices have tipped its economy into a recession, hammered its dollar reserves and created chronic dollar shortages, frustrating businesses and individuals. The central bank, opposed to a free naira float, has been selling the U.S. currency on the official currency market to try to narrow the spread with the black market rate, which was at 390 last week, albeit down from 520 to the dollar a month ago.

Nigeria records increase in oil rig count

NIGERIA’S oil rig count slightly increased to 26 in February, from the 25 recorded in January, this year, Baker Hughes Incorporated and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, secretariat data shows.

But the nation remains number eight out of the 13 – member OPEC, whose total rig count also slightly increased to 554, from the 550 recorded in January. The data showed that Nigeria’s rig count still falls below the 30 recorded about this time in 2015 and 34 recorded in 2014. Among OPEC members, Saudi Arabia led with a rig count of 155, followed by Venezuela, 96, Iran, 61, Kuwait, 59, Algeria, 50, United Arab Emirate, 49, Iraq, 40, Qatar, 11, Ecuador, 7, Angola, 3, Libya, 1, Gabon, 0. Africa’s non OPEC members still maintained the 16 rig count it recorded in January. “Regulatory uncertainty has resulted in fewer investments in new oil and natural gas projects, and no licensing round has occurred since 2007. 

The amount of money that Nigeria loses every year from not passing the PIB is estimated to be as high as $15bn,” the United States Energy Information Administration said in its ‘Nigeria Brief’. It indicated that Nigeria has the second-largest amount of proven crude oil reserves in Africa, but exploration activity has slowed. 

Rising security problems, coupled with regulatory uncertainty, have contributed to decreased exploration,” the EIA said. According to the agency, the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, which was initially proposed in 2008, is expected to change the organisational structure and fiscal terms governing the oil and natural gas industry if it becomes law. “International oil companies are concerned that proposed changes to fiscal terms may make some projects commercially unviable, particularly deepwater projects that involve greater capital spending,” it stated. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had recently said the agreement by OPEC and non-OPEC producers to cut production with a view to stabilising prices was already yielding results for Nigeria. 

He said higher oil prices and a long-term plan for production were spearheading the country’s efforts to get its oil and gas sector back on track. Kachikwu explained that tackling militancy in the Niger Delta communities was a high priority for the government, which would produce far-reaching benefits. “We can already see that our efforts to create a more enabling environment and increase stability are producing positive responses from investors,” he said. Also speaking on the issue, the Chief Executive Officer of Tecon Oil Services, Mr. Casmir Maduafokwa, said that the vital measurement of the level of activity in the oil sector is the level of rig activity. “The rig count has been shrinking. In the period 1990 to 1991, the rig count was close to 50. The current rig count is below 30. 

We have a lot of stacked rigs. We also have four workover units stashed. Even with no income, you have to maintain them. “There are lots of idle rigs in the market. The rig activity normally drives a lot of other activities. If you pull a rig out of the system, all these services basically dry up. The oil companies are even smart. They have call-off provisions. You can invest and if there is no work, you are not paid a dime. The point is that the oil sector especially the joint venture aspect has performed poorly,” he added.

Vanguard

Meningitis outbreak kills 140 in Nigeria

An outbreak of meningitis in several states of Nigeria has killed at least 140 people, officials say.

It has been reported over the last week in six states and has so far infected more than 1,000 people, the Abuja Centre for Disease Control says.

Meningitis causes an acute inflammation of the outer layers of the brain and spinal cord.

The current outbreak is the worst in Nigeria since 2009 when it killed at least 156 people.

The disease is spreading amidst fears it could be out of control if refugee camps, prisons and police cells become affected through crowds, the BBC's Chris Ewokor in Abuja says.

Vaccination is an effective way of preventing against meningitis.

However, a new strain, which may have been imported from a neighbouring country is now prevalent in Nigeria and requires a different type of vaccine, Nigerian Minister of Health Isaac Adewole said.

The seasonal outbreak has been attributed to cold nights, dusty winds and dry weather, which were aggravated by traditional beliefs, poor hygiene, and overpopulation, our reporter says.

Nigeria lies on the meningitis belt, stretching from the Sahel region to the Horn of Africa, where outbreaks occur regularly.

BBC

Video - Nigeria eyeing to capture a sprint medal at the Tokyo 2020

A few years ago, Nigeria was a dominant force in athletics Track and Field events. Nigerian sprinters were ranked among the best in the world, often competing with the Americans and Jamaicans. The country has produced among the highest numbers of sub-10 runners in the 100 meters in Africa. But athletics has taken a nosedive in the country. In the last two Olympics, Nigeria did not win a single medal. But one young Nigerian is driving an initiative to change that in the next Olympics in Tokyo in 2020 as CGTN's Deji Badmus now reports.