INSISTING that the producers of My Pikin baby teething mixture who earned seven years' imprisonment deserve higher sentence, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) yesterday vowed to file cross-appeal against the judgment.
A Federal High Court in Lagos had found guilty and sentenced Adeyemo Abiodun and Egbele Austine Eromosele, both officials of Barewa Pharmaceuticals Limited, to prison on May 17, 2013.
Justice Okechukwu Okeke, now retired, said they were guilty of the offence of conspiracy to sell and sale of dangerous drug to which is My Pikin.
But NAFDAC said it would cross-appeal against the verdict on the ground that there was overwhelming evidence, which Justice Okeke ought to have used to convict Adeyemo and Eromosele on other more serious charges.
This position is contained in NAFDAC's counter-affidavit to a bail application filed by the convicts, who are seeking bail pending appeal on health ground.
The convicts (Adeyemo and Eromosele) had filed the bail application, pleading that they needed to be freed so as to take adequate care of their failing health.
Deposed to by Adumen Jombo Washington of NAFDAC, the agency, in its counter-affidavit, explained that there are adequate medical facilities and personnel in the prison that can conveniently take care of health issues of the convicts.
Besides, Washington clarified that in the event that the available facilities in the prison cannot meet the medical needs of inmates, the Prison Service has internal arrangement whereby they partner with the families of such inmates to refer them to more equipped government or private hospitals.
The agency, therefore, urged the court to reject the bail application of the convicts, as their lawyer was only raising false alarm regarding the health of his clients so as to mislead the court.
The matter is before Justice Mohammed Idris.
The Guardian
If the product isn't wanted then it should be destroyed and taken away from this country. It makes no sense.