Ban on open drugs markets in Nigeria to take effect in 2019

Open drug markets will be outlawed in Nigeria and shut down by the end of next year, the federal government has said.

The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, made this known on Monday in Lagos at a workshop organised by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation on “The prevention, Detection and Response of Substandard and Falsified medical Products.”

According to a report of the event by Thisday newspaper, the minister said the government would introduce coordinated wholesale centres nationwide for distribution of drugs, to check the menace of fake medical products in Nigeria.

Mr. Adewole said the new measure would ensure that drugs are sourced directly from importers or manufacturers and distributed down to the end users instead of having Nigerians continuing buying drugs from the open drug markets.

He said the ministry had developed a National Drug Distribution Guidelines (NDDG) in 2012 to address Nigeria’s chaotic drug distribution system.

Mr. Adewole said the “Coordinated Wholesale Centres”, which will accommodate open market medicines sellers, had been approved and are being developed in Lagos, Onitsha, Aba and Kano and will commence operation by January 1, 2019.

He said: “Medicine is an important component of healthcare delivery service and without the infusion of medicines; the health care service delivery system of a nation is sterile.

“A good-quality medicine supply system is essential for healthcare delivery. There is a special need to prevent therapeutic drug falsification in order to safeguard against health and maintain trust in healthcare system. The overall scale of trading in medicine and the resultant harm done to global health has not been adequately accessed,” he said.

In his remarks at the workshop, the acting Director General of NAFDAC, Ademola Mogbojuri, noted that the public health implications of substandard and falsified medical products include treatment failure, high treatment cost, development of resistance, loss of confidence in the healthcare providers and healthcare system and may ultimately, result in fatality and death.

Mr. Mogbojuri who noted that the problem has become a serious threat to global public health, said the fight against the menace requires a sustained action by both governmental and non-governmental bodies. 

While noting that single and isolated interventions cannot address the issue of substandard falsified medical products, he called for coordinated actions with international organisations to reduce the practice to the barest minimum.

Premium Times

Video - Children in Nigeria's northeast miss on education due to insecurity

As the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria's northeast drags into its ninth year, children in the region continue to miss out on an education. Many schools remain closed due to insecurity.

Nigeria to begin closed door trials of Boko Haram suspects

Nigeria is set to begin a legal marathon: More than 1,600 suspected Boko Haram members will be going on trial starting Monday. But many observers doubt the trials can be carried out successfully.

Mohammed Tola was surprised when relatives of a number of accused Boko Haram fighters began calling his office a few months ago to ask him to defend the accused in court. Tola's legal offices, situated in the center of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, is specialized in criminal law. But he and his colleagues have had little experience with terrorism trials to date.

Boko Haram is one of the deadliest terror organizations in Africa. Over the last few years more than 50,000 Nigerians have died in their government's conflict with the Islamist militia. Nevertheless, the lawyer was immediately prepared to take on the task. He says that everyone, even suspected terrorists, have the right to a fair trial. "If public opinion was the only thing that mattered, we would never have fair trials," says Tola.

Overburdened judges

This Monday, some 1,600 suspected Boko Haram members are to go on trial — and each one is to be tried individually. The trials are to take place in the detention center where the accused have been held since their arrests. However, the criminal proceedings have faced criticism before even getting underway. Even Nigerian Minister for Justice Abubakar Malami in a statement made several weeks ago voiced concern about the utter lack of evidence against many of the accused, adding that there is "hardly any qualified personnel available to work through the complex cases before the court."

Nigerian legal expert Mainasara Umar sees three major problems that he says are cause for skepticism. "Four judges have been appointed to hear cases. That is far too few. Furthermore, plaintiffs and witnesses must be afforded better protection. But the most important thing is that cooperation between investigators and prosecutors must function perfectly."

Lawyer Tola fears another problem altogether: The lack of evidence means that investigators will largely have to rely upon defendants' confessions. He knows from experience that violence is often employed in such instances in order to get the accused to talk. "I have had cases in which there were blood stains on signed confessions. Torture was clearly used to get people to sign." He assumes that violent methods are used in about 80 percent of all confessions in Nigeria. And he says that can quickly lead to the wrongful conviction of innocent people — especially when pressure from public opinion mounts.

Calls for a special court

The dimensions of this pending legal marathon against suspected terrorists have no precedent in Nigeria. So far, just 13 trials against Boko Haram members have been completed, only nine of which ended in convictions. Add to that 33 cases that are still ongoing — some for years now. Attorney Tola is preparing for lengthy trial. "I just spoke with a colleague who represents clients accused of having carried out a terror attack in the capital." He says the trial has been dragging on for three years due to the poor body of evidence that has been gathered against the defendants. "And there is no end in sight."


Legal expert Umar is convinced that the Nigerian government must better prepare the courts involved if it is to avoid a legal disaster in the forthcoming 1,600 trials. "I think it would be better if the government appointed a special court to handle the matter." The court, he says, would have to be given sufficient personnel and funding, and be tasked with hearing all terrorism cases — from armed rebellion to kidnapping. Umar says that is the only way to guarantee that trials can be completed in a timely fashion. As he puts it, "Ultimately, justice delayed is justice denied."

DW

Nigerian army ordered to pay N85.8 million for killing civilian

The Nigerian Army has been ordered by the Federal High Court in Lagos to pay N85.5 million for the assault and killing of one Olajide Enilari, a flour merchant.

The verdict came eight years after the deceased died from a brutal assault by soldiers in 2009.

A human rights campaign organization, Access to Justice, dragged the army before the court on behalf of the deceased.

Details of a court judgement dated September 26, revealed that the judge, I. N. Buba, ruled that the assault which led to the death of Enilari was wrong and unlawful.

The Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Attorney General of the Federation and 3 others were named as defendants.

Details made available in the court said that Enilari was brutally assaulted by officers of the Nigerian Army on January 27, 2009 along Airways junction in Apapa, Lagos.

He died due to head injuries sustained during the assault on January 29, 2009, in Lagos.

After careful consideration of the evidence (oral and documentary) of the parties in the suit, the court found no merit in the defence.

The court ruled that the assault, which resulted in the death of the deceased was unlawful, wrong and a gross violation of Olajide’s right to life.

The court ordered the defendants to pay N50 million as aggravated damages, jointly and severally.

It also ordered the payment of N295,000 as special damages to cover for the deceased burial expenses.

It further granted the plaintiffs N35 million for loss and pain caused them by the brutal assault on the deceased which led to his death; and the cost of N250,000 in favour of the plaintiffs.

The total payable amount pegged was N85,545 000.

Reacting to the judgment, a Senior Programme Officer at Access to Justice, Chinelo Chinweze, said, “This climate of impunity feeds the recklessness and unlawfulness of the actions of security forces and law enforcement agencies in varied contexts.

“We see it in Mr. Enilari’s case but it is also seen in the conduct of counter-terrorism warfare in the North-east; in the brutal crackdown against members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, (i.e. Shiites) and of IPOB members.

“For many victims of human rights abuses, this time standard is just enough to discourage them from pursuing redress and justice for acts of impunity.

“We need to reform our judicial procedures to reduce the time taken to meet basic justice needs and deliver needed services.”

Daily Post

Video - Anxiety rises in Nigeria over Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu's disappearance

To separatist matters in Africa now, and anxiety is building up in Nigeria, after the apparent disappearance of Indigenous People of Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu. Kanu has been missing for two weeks now. The family alleges that the army raided his home and took him away, although Nigerian military denies this. Kanu has been leading agitations for secession of the Biafra region from Nigeria.