Senate proposes 15-year jail term for drug hawking

The Senate has proposed a 15-year jail term for the offences of manufacturing, sale, and trafficking in fake and counterfeit pharmaceutical products and other consumables in the country.

Fines also run into millions of naira, in addition to fines for offenders, particularly when deaths occur from their actions.

The bill, an amendment to the existing Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods Act, 2004, passed second reading on the floor of the Senate in Abuja on Wednesday.

ALSO READ: JUST IN: Reps in rowdy session over motion to summon Tinubu

The long title reads, “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, CAP C.34 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 to Prohibit the Use of Toxic Substances to Quicken the Natural Process to Maturity of Fruits and to Review Penalty Provisions for Hawking Drugs and and other Food Products and for Related Matters, 2026 (SB. 951).”

It was sponsored by Senator Suleiman Umar Sadiq (APC, Kwara-North).

The proposed law seeks to strengthen existing regulations and to modernise operations.

Senators, while debating the bill, pointed to growing ailments like kidney infections, liver diseases, and other organ-damaging illnesses linked to the consumption of fake and counterfeit pharmaceuticals and unwholesome foods.

For instance, Senator Sadiq, in his lead debate, noted that with technological advancement, offenders had found many ways of producing, selling, and distributing fake consumables, including using social media, thereby limiting the capacity of regulatory agencies to go after them.

“The current law came into existence more than two decades ago and did not envisage some of the practices this bill seeks to address”, he added.

Aside from prescribing stiffer penalties for offenders, the bill also seeks to strengthen the work of agencies such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

However, lawmakers cautioned against duplicating the functions of NAFDAC, adding that getting the agency’s views on the bill would resolve likely conflicts in implementation when passed into law.

A public hearing on the bill to hear from stakeholders, including NAFDAC, is underway.