- Community pharmacists decry harassment NAFDAC kicks, says act is illegal
- Police vow to arrest anybody in possession of codeine products
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Lagos State branch, has raised the alarm over what it described as continued harassment of its members by men of the Lagos State Police Command, who are now visiting pharmacies in search of the banned codeine cough syrup.
According to the association, the policemen are now using the banned codeine cough to extort money from its members.
Immediate Past Chairman of ACPN, Pharm. Abiola Paul-Ozieh, who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The Point, called on the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal, to call his men to order, while reminding the officers involved that the police have no business with drug regulation, but the responsibility of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
She said; “Policemen are now involved in the regulation of drugs, since the ban on codeine. Yes, I can say it categorically. Two times now, our current Chairman at the ACPN had written letters to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police over his men’s harassment of our members. The ban pronouncement by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has made the police to think that they have the right to regulate drugs. To the extent that they now visit pharmacies and pharmaceutical outlets, pretending to be buying drugs, but with the intention of harassing our members over codeine cough syrup with the aim of extorting money from them.”
Revealing their mode of operation, Paul-Ozieh said: “What the policemen do is that they will pretend to be buying drugs and start asking for codeine-containing cough syrup. When our members say they have it but have withdrawn it from the shelf, they will begin to make trouble and it will become an issue. Before you know it, they will arrest our members, take them to their stations and extort money from them. We have written and documented everything. The State Commissioner of Police is aware. His men should not dabble into drug regulation. These are some of the challenges we are facing right now.”
Codeine belongs to the class of drugs called opioids. It is used as an analgesic for the treatment of mild to moderate pain (narcotic analgesic). It can also be used as a cough suppressant and anti-diarrhoea.
Due to the gross abuse codeine usage has been subjected to in the country, the Federal Government, on May 1, 2018, directed NAFDAC to ban, with immediate effect, further issuance of permits for the importation of codeine as active pharmaceutical ingredient for cough preparations.
Two weeks ago, the Federal Ministry of Health said it had recalled over 2.4 million bottles of codeine-containing cough syrup after a recent audit trial of the substance by NAFDAC.
Experts say that when abused, codeine could lead to many health challenges, including cardiac arrest and low blood pressure.
Commenting on the issue, NAFDAC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Abubakar Jimoh, told The Point that it is illegal for the police to go searching for codeine products in pharmacies, insisting that they have no such mandate under the law to carry out such task.
Jimoh said; “The police should follow the modus operandi. It is not the first time we are hearing this type of complaint about police harassment over codeine. But with this latest complaint, we are going to take the matter up.
“The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, will be visiting the Inspector General of Police soon and I can assure you that this complaint will top the list of the agenda on that visit.
“The police should know that it is not in their ambit to regulate drugs; it is the duty of NAFDAC. And where there are pharmacies that are still dealing in banned drugs like codeine cough syrup, codeine or other banned pharmaceutical products, it is NAFDAC that will initiate the enforcement and then involve the police,” he explained.
He further noted: “On the other hand, if the police arrest anybody or pharmacist over codeine products, it is the duty of the police to handover such an individual to NAFDAC for prosecution. As I speak with you now, we are yet to receive any report from the police on any arrest. But we have received complaints about police harassment and arrest of people over codeine-containing cough syrup.”
Assuring that the issue would be urgently addressed by NAFDAC, Jimoh, however, noted that the agency works in collaboration with the police to carry out its functions.
Reacting to ACPN’s claim, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti, who first described the allegations as untrue, however said the police have a duty to ensure that the law is obeyed.
“Any law that is not enforceable is not a law. We know that we are not NAFDAC, but if anybody commits an offence we will go after that person. We are not harassing anybody, but we will enforce the law. Once we get any intelligence report that any pharmacy or pharmacist is dealing in banned products like the codeine-containing cough syrup that is destroying lives, we will go after that pharmacist. And any pharmacist in possession of the drug will be arrested because we must enforce the law,” he asserted.
