NAFDAC Boss Proposes Death Penalty for Fake Drug Peddlers

The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mojisola Adeyeye, has proposed implementing the death penalty for drug peddlers.

During an appearance on Channels Television’s program, *The Morning Brief*, she emphasized that only strict penalties can effectively deter drug dealers, especially when their actions lead to the deaths of children.

“A concerning situation arose when someone purchased children’s medicine for about N13,000, while another vendor was selling it for around N3,000 in the same mall. This raised an alarm. After testing the medicine in our Kaduna laboratory, we found it contained nothing. For this reason, I am advocating for the death penalty,” Adeyeye stated.

She mentioned that individuals do not need to use a gun to harm children; even administering substandard medicine can have fatal consequences.

Adeyeye also called for the cooperation of the judiciary and the National Assembly to turn this proposal into reality. She noted, “It is not possible to combat substandard and falsified medicines in isolation. Our agency can only do so much, but without adequate deterrents, we will encounter persistent problems.”

She highlighted the severity of the issue, pointing out that someone brought in 225mg of Tramadol, which can be lethal or cause severe brain damage. Yet, the existing punishment for such actions is merely five years in prison or a fine of N250,000. “Who doesn’t know that a person can easily withdraw N250,000 from an ATM?” she asked.

“This reflects part of the problem — there are insufficient measures to prevent offenders from repeating their crimes. We can only do so much, but if our laws are not stringent enough or the judiciary fails to enforce them firmly, we will continue to face this challenge.”

She concluded, “Our judicial system needs to be robust. We are collaborating with the National Assembly to make penalties more severe. If someone kills a child with bad medicine, they deserve the death penalty.”