A former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Olisa Metuh, has called for stiffer penalties for the production and distribution of fake drugs and adulterated consumer products, describing a five-year jail term or N5 million fine as grossly inadequate.
Metuh, who serves as the Director of Mobilisation and Organisation of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA), said the government must stop treating the menace with kid gloves.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, Metuh was reacting to Wednesday’s conviction of an Aba-based businessman, Innocent Okoye, by the Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia State, for manufacturing and distributing counterfeit Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Okoye was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with an option of a N5 million fine.
Describing the sentence as a “mere slap on the wrist,” Metuh warned that such lenient penalties risk turning counterfeiting and product adulteration into a manageable business expense for unscrupulous manufacturers and merchants.
He noted that adulterated medicines, foods, beverages, cosmetics, and household products can cause severe illness, permanent organ damage, and preventable deaths, pointing out that unsuspecting Nigerians routinely bear the brunt of crimes that often impact thousands of consumers before detection.
“The law must respond with consequences that fit the crime,” Metuh stated, arguing that the absence of direct physical confrontation between counterfeiters and their victims does not make product adulteration any less lethal than conventional violent crimes.
He urged the National Assembly to urgently overhaul existing legislation governing drug counterfeiting, pharmaceutical adulteration, and the falsification of consumer goods, ensuring that prescribed penalties strictly reflect the gravity of harm caused, the offenders’ criminal intent, illicit financial proceeds, and degree of recklessness.
He called for substantially longer prison sentences—including terms comparable to those handed down for grave violent felonies where the offence results in death or grievous bodily harm—alongside punitive fines proportionate to the illicit profits and damages incurred.
Metuh also advocated mandatory asset forfeiture, permanent closure of offending production facilities, restitution and compensation for victims, immediate withdrawal of dangerous consignments from circulation, and the criminal prosecution of corporate executives, manufacturers, importers, and distributors who knowingly facilitate such illicit operations. He stressed, however, that tougher statutory provisions must be matched by swift prosecution and uncompromised regulatory enforcement.
“A five-year jail term or N5 million fine amounts to a mere slap on the wrist,” he reiterated, insisting that criminal penalties must never become a tolerable overhead cost for trading in human lives.
It will be recalled that the Senate in July 2026 passed for second reading the Counterfeit Medical Products, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Prohibition and Control) Bill, 2026. The proposed legislation prescribes a minimum 15-year jail term upon conviction, mandatory asset forfeiture, compensation for victims, and expanded enforcement powers for the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
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