THE National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said on Tuesday that investigations showed that Batch No 02008 of ``My Pikin’’ teething syrup was produced with a deadly chemical.
NAFDAC’s Director of Establishment Inspection, Mrs Hauwa Keri, spoke while testifying at a Federal High Court, Lagos, in the case filed by the agency against the owner of Barewa Pharmaceutical Industries, Kola Okunlola.
Okunlola, with two of his employees, Adeyemo Abiodun and Egbele Eromosele, as well as Barewa Pharmaceutical Industries, had been dragged to court in March 2009 on a six-count charge based on the production of the fake teething syrup, which led to the death of some children.
In her testimony at the resumed trial, Keri told the court that the syrup contained a deadly chemical called Dithylene Glycol.
She said that batch number 02008 of the product was contaminated and was produced at the time a school certificate holder employed by the pharmaceutical company purchased a keg of Dithylene Glycol and wrongly labeled it as Prophlene Glycol.
'We also established that the quality control officer of Barewa did not carry out the mandatory identification test for all raw materials before production as required by law.
'Even worse was the discovery that the production manager went ahead to produce batch Number 02008 with only a verbal clearance from the Quality Control Officer,'
she said.
Keri said that she was asked by the then Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Dora Akunyili, to investigate the matter when the Chief Pharmacist of the Ahmadu Bello University, Mr Salisu Ibrahim, called to inform the agency that some children had died after taking the syrup.
'I immediately dispatched a team of investigators who interviewed the chief pharmacist, and brought back remains of the syrup and then sent my officers in Kaduna to buy the teething syrup off the shelf, which was then sent to the laboratory.
She said she also sent staff members to University College Hospital, Ibadan, and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital to get samples of the syrup before proceeding to test the samples.
`The first result from the laboratory had us coming from Abuja to Lagos, to Baruwa Pharmaceutical Industries and made us to take specific action of sealing off the factory,” she said.
Keri also told the court that investigations showed that the children who died after taking the drug had similar symptoms of renal failure which was characterised by their inability to pass urine, resulting in their death.
Counsel to the defendants, Mr Osaro Eghobamien, asked the court to order the witness to furnish him with results of the laboratory test to enable him to conduct his cross-examination.
Justice Okechukwu Okeke granted his prayer and adjourned the case to Feb. 16 for continuation of the hearing.
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