A 35-year-old woman, Clara Onah, was Wednesday sentenced to seven years in prison by the Federal High Court, Lagos, for selling fake drugs.
Onah, from Enugu State, was charged by the National Agency for Food, Drugs, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on behalf of the Federal Government.
A graduate of Microbiology of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a post-graduate student of Mass Communication, Onah resides at No 12, Mosalashi St., Alagbado Lagos.
She was arraigned on February 15 and pleaded guilty to a five-count charge bordering on possession and sale of fake drugs, offences committed on
January 26.
The prosecutor Mr. Shamaki Umar had told the court that the accused sold fake brand of 200 mg of Amazon Amagyl Metronidazole tablets to members of the public.
The accused was remanded in prison pending the review of facts.
Amidst sobs the woman pleaded for mercy, saying she didn’t know the drugs were fake.
But the prosecutor urged the court to award her the maximum sentence according to the law.
The judge reprimanded the convict for being a 2:1 graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka who chose to deal on fake drugs instead of staying in the village to find something worthy to do, if she could not get a decent job in Lagos.
The offences contravened the provisions of section 1(1) (a), 3, and 3 (1) of the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs Unwholesome Processed Foods, (Miscellaneous Provision) Act Cap 34, Laws of the Federation, 2004.
today.ng cullage.
Ooooh what a pity.Its even possible that she didnt know they were fake.
Sleep na,stella,dnt u sleep. Oya good night oh
ReplyDeleteAbeg! They will all claim they don't know.
DeleteDats why you should not do a business you don't know the head and tail of it.
If you are not in the medical profession what are you doing with drugs you don't know about? Since you can enjoy the money you made from it, shut up and also enjoy the punishment.
Nigerians will be complaining that the Hospitals here cannot treat simple sickness when they are the ones selling fake drugs and sympathising with the ones that has been caught.
Do you know how many people that would have died?
Stella you no dey sleep?
ReplyDeleteWhat a pity
ReplyDeleteSad much. Madam so u leave Mr Korkus all alone for bed abi? U try o.
ReplyDeleteShe knows ooo.
ReplyDeleteSoo sad
ReplyDeleteMost of them knows. Many chemist here do sell fake drug without nafdac number and they know. See them running whenever they hear NAFDAC officials re in town. Wicked souls.
ReplyDeleteOf course she didn't. I wonder what they did to trace the source of the drugs. Maximum time should be given to the importer not an innocent buyer that was looking for how to make ends meet and help the less privileged that can't afford expensive treatment. What a shame!
ReplyDeleteWithout those buyers, will the importers sell?
DeleteThey are the ones that place high demand on the fake drugs that the importers get it in for them. All of them are guilty.
So,they should leave the retailers and start looking for the importers first?
Some of them order it online and get them cleared in the country. They don't even need an importer.
Chai too bad for her.
ReplyDeleteChaiii nawaooo
ReplyDeleteThis is stupid and wicked.
ReplyDeleteAm not in support of selling fake drugs but was she the manufacturer?
How was she to know it was fake?
All these judges that are quick to sentence people to jail but leave people stealing billions to walk freely with light sentencing. Your place in hell is reserved.
Haba, this is too harsh.
The lady should appeal the sentence and get a better lawyer.
She does not even have any right to sell drugs in the first place.
DeleteDoes she have the right to sell drugs, if not for her greed.
DeleteNigeria is a place where people like to reap a particular profession because of monetary gains yet they refuse to acquire the necessary certificates. So,it is no body's business if she know how fake or original it is.
Secondly, you want to go and arrest the manufacturers in India or China??? LMAO, your greedy country mates order these goods and have them sent in.
how sure are we that she did not know the drugs were fake.....
ReplyDeleteDoes she have the qualifications to sell drugs in the first place.
DeleteIf she had the qualifications, she would have known.
Good for her
ReplyDeleteShe should just deal with it, that's how dey kill innocent people how can an educated person like her not know.
ReplyDeleteAs they say ignorance is not an excuse.
ReplyDeleteIgnoratia juris non excusat!
DeleteChai!
Possible som1's mother, wife, sister, friend,...
I feel for u dear.
Pls appeal and front allocutus, evidence of good xter, etc anytin to mitigate d sentence. Minwile I urge her to state d persons/stores she bought d drugs from.
See as Material waste...
Hmmm
ReplyDeleteGood for her.
ReplyDeleteAnd that was hpw network messed up my ruboat reply yesterday.
Diaris God
Good for her.
ReplyDeleteAnd that was hpw network messed up my ruboat reply yesterday.
Diaris God
Eeeya.what if she didn't know there were fake?
ReplyDeleteI hope they took that into consideration.
But it is like saying a fake medical doctor kills patients in surgical room and said he didn't know that cutting that blood vessel will kill the patient.
DeleteDoes he have the certificate / Licence to even operate on a patient?
This Lady, what right does she have to even sell drugs???
it is well with her soul.
ReplyDeleteEnugu again! Same drug related offence
ReplyDeleteOmg! Enugu state again
ReplyDeleteNawa ooooh
ReplyDeleteHow can a microbiologist from UNN not know a fake drug? Mtchew. What if someone is dying as a result of fake drugs. Cast her into jail pls.
ReplyDeleteIs a microbiologist a drug specialist?
DeleteNot fake drug but unregistered drug.
ReplyDeleteIs it true that she didn't know they were fake?? Mmmm ... I wouldn't know but from what I know, in the business of drug dealing, it is often not common for people not to know whether it is fake or original which they sell and considering how learned she is and that she even came out with as much as a 2;1 from Microbiology in UNN which is no small feat, I don't think she could have been ignorant as she claimed but they could have mercy on her provided the fake drugs she sold were not poisonous... its not as easy as the other one said " going to the village and looking for something doing if she can't find anything in Lagos"
ReplyDeleteShe should be allowed to serve not less than one year anyway.
*Sips Hennessey from platinum chalice and adjusts concave*
What does the judge meant by she should have stay in the village if she was unable to get a decent job in Lagos because she is an igbo lady. Is Lagos now the new heaven? Tribalism!!
ReplyDeleteI stopped pitying these ppl ever since I was a victim of fake asthma inhaler. I almost died that day after inhaling. If not for my sister who rushed me to hospital.
ReplyDeleteThere are many educated people who buy fake drugs without knowing there are fake. There are hospitals that even give out drugs without knowing there are fakes. She should name the importer, except she manufactures them herself otherwise, thorough investigation should be carried out.
ReplyDeleteIf found guilty, she Must face the consequences a lot have died because of this drug-related crimes.
I fear unn microbiology/biochemistry department. most ppl i know that were in that dept hardly graduate and the few thaT MANAGE TO, DONT GET GOOD JOBS. is there something wrong with them??they have the highest number of extra years and poor results in the whole UNN. how can a 2.1 graduate resort to selling fake drugs??
ReplyDeleteShe entered a guilty plea which means she admitted committing the offence. If she had no idea the drugs were fake, she would have entered a plea of not guilty.
ReplyDeleteIf you aren't abreast with criminal proceedings, you'll make wrong assumptions. After pleading guilty to a criminal charge, you've lost any right of appeal. You can't play legal ping pong in a competent court of law. Even after her guilty plea, the judge had to review the facts of the case to eliminate reasonable doubt. During the review, the judge will consider the oral evidence as well as documentary evidence adduced by the prosecution. It appears she already made an extrajudicial confessional statement with together with her guilty plea, sealed her fate.
The judge was only carrying out the duty of court in respect of the charge. You can't blame a judge for not sanctioning the manufacturers because it is the job of the prosecution to prefer a charge against the manufacturers, and not the judge. A judge can only preside over a matter before him. The reason the accused got summary trial is due to her guilt plea, that's why she was arraigned on 15/02/2016 and judgment and sentence entered on 02/03/2016.
The reason for her conviction is that the judge was satisfied, from the facts before the court, that the convict perpetuated the offences levelled against her. The judge has the discretion whether or not to give the maximum punishment prescribed by the relevant law. We must also remember that the convict had a 5 count charge against her, not 1 or 2 counts. Though most judges don't usually give the maximum punishment to a 1st time offender, especially when the accused saved the court the stress of a lengthy criminal trial by confessing to the crime, it is well within a judge's right to do so if he so pleases.
What she can do is to appeal to a court of appeal to review her sentence but not the facts of the case because she has already entered a guilty plea. If she's lucky, it may be reduced to 4-5 years but the court of Appeal rarely interferes unless it is manifestly apparent that the punishment was too stringent.