Only harsh punishments will effectively dissuade drug traffickers, especially when those cases result in the deaths of children, said Mojisola Adeyeye, the agency’s director-general.

Adeyeye cited a particular case in which a drug dealer supplied 225 mg of Tramadol—a narcotic that can cause death and severe brain damage—but was simply fined or sentenced to five years in prison. She voiced worry that permitting such indulgence is a serious problem.

She drew attention to the fact that the nation’s current laws don’t take strong action to stop repeat offenses.

She also underlined that the agency is working with the National Assembly to make sure that the penalties are raised considerably.

The NAFDAC chief stated on Friday’s episode of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief that “someone bought children’s medicine for ₦13,000 or something like that, another person was selling about ₦3,000 in the same mall.”

That sparked a concern. You know what? When we tested that medication in our Kaduna lab, it contained nothing. I therefore support the death penalty.

“Because you can kill a child without first placing a pistol on their head. Adeyeye continued, “Just give that kid bad medicine.”

To make this initiative a reality, the NAFDAC Director General is actively working to cooperate with the National Assembly and the judiciary. She emphasized that the agency is prepared to collaborate on this issue with lawmakers and other relevant parties.

“You cannot combat shoddy, fraudulent medication on your own. There will be an issue if there is no deterrent, no matter how much the agency does,” she stated.

“You sentenced someone to five years in prison or ₦250,000 after they brought in 225 mg of Tramadol, which may kill anyone and completely destroy the brain. Who doesn’t know that someone will withdraw ₦250,000 from the ATM?

That contributes to our issue. Strict procedures aren’t in place to prevent [people] from doing the same thing again. We can take all the necessary steps, but if our laws are weak or the judiciary is unable to defend itself, we will have difficulties.

Therefore, our legal system needs to be sufficiently robust. However, we are collaborating with the National Assembly to impose severe punishments. “But you deserve to die if you kill a child with bad medicine,” she continued.