Invoking the Consumer Protection Act to Combat Fake, Expired Drugs and Food Products in Nigeria
There is an alarming proliferation in various parts of the country of fake, expired drugs and food products. Many unsuspecting Nigerians on a daily basis fall prey to the grave problem of consuming such fake or expired drugs and food products either due to inadvertence or ignorance, and are consequently subjected to the monumental hazards, which such unwholesome items pose to human health. Unscrupulous manufacturers, importers, dealers, distributors and marketers of drugs and food products in Nigeria take criminal advantage of the widespread consumer inadvertence and/or ignorance to manufacture, import or sell counterfeit or stale medical and edible products to unwary and susceptible persons. A lot of such deleterious products do not even bear certification numbers or expiry dates.
Therefore, innocent consumers in Nigeria are constantly exposed to the devious practices of these diabolical merchants of death, as it were. Indeed, many have lost their lives as a result of the unmitigated malevolence and illegality of fabrication and vending of noxious medical and edible substances, while countless more have become ensnared by all manner of malignant diseases – including cancer – owing to the insidious effects of such egregious products.
Against this horrendous backdrop therefore, it has become germane to build a critical mass of intensely vigilant citizenry, who are aware of the perils attendant to the consumption of fake, expired drugs and food products, and well apprised of the redress mechanisms at their disposal for the counteraction of this ugly trend. To that end, it is pertinent to point out that Nigerian lawmakers set out to cure the mischief of producing, importing or selling fake and expired medical and edible products, and all other forms of consumer exploitation and abuse, by enacting the Consumer Protection Council Act of 2014. The Act created the Consumer Protection Council and subsidiary State Committees to assist the Council. Section 2 of the Act saddles the Council with the following functions:
a. To provide speedy redress to consumers’ complaint through negotiation, mediation and conciliation;
b. To seek ways and means of removing or eliminating from the market hazardous products, and causing offenders to replace such products with safer and more appropriate alternatives;
c. To publish, from time to time, the list of products the consumption and sale of which have been banned, withdrawn, severally restricted or not approved by the Federal Government or foreign governments;
d. To cause an offending company, firm, trade, association or individual to protect, compensate, and provide relief and safeguards to injured consumers or communities from the adverse effects of technologies that are inherently harmful, injurious, violent or highly hazardous;
e. To organise and undertake campaigns and other forms of activities as will lead to increased public consumer awareness;
f. To encourage trade, industry and professional associations to develop and enforce in their various fields quality standards designed to safeguard the interest of consumers;
g. To issue guidelines to manufacturers, importers, dealers and wholesalers in relation to their obligation under the Act;
h. To encourage the formation of voluntary consumer groups or associations for consumers’ well-being;
i. To ensure consumers’ interests receive due consideration at appropriate forums and provide redress for obnoxious practices or the unscrupulous exploitation of consumers by companies, firms, trade associations or individuals;
j. To encourage the adoption of appropriate measures to ensure that products are safe for either intended or normally safe use; and
k. To perform such other functions as may be imposed on the Council pursuant to the Act.
Furthermore, Section 3 of the Act invests the Council with some expansive powers, namely:
a. To apply to court to prevent the circulation of any product which constitutes an imminent public hazard;
b. To compel a manufacturer to certify that all safety standards are met in their products;
c. To cause, as it deems necessary, qual- ity tests to be conducted on a consumer product;
d. To demand production of labels showing date and place of manufacture of a commodity as well as certification of compliance;
e. To compel manufacturers, dealers and service companies, where appropriate, to give public notice of any health hazards inherent in their products;
f. To ban the sale, distribution, advertisement of products which do not comply with safety or health regulations.
The Act provides under section 5 that the State Committee of the Council shall, subject to the control of the Council, receive complaints about injuries, losses or damages suffered or caused by a company, firm, trade, association or individual, negotiate settlement thereof, and where appropriate recommend to the Council the payment of compensation by the offending party to the injured consumer. Therefore, pursuant to section 6 of the Act, it is incumbent on a consumer who has suffered a loss, injury or damage as a result of the use or impact of any goods, product or service to make a complaint in writing to or seek redress through a State Committee.
In view of the aforementioned gamut of extensive powers and functions imbued on the Consumer Protection Council, one is at a loss as to why all forms of market abuses and exploitation of consumers remain prevalent especially as regards manufacturing, importation and sale of fake and expired drugs and food products. One may however hazard a guess that the ugly trend is predicated on the one hand upon a lackluster attitude of the Council in proactively living up to the biddings of its statutory powers and functions; and on the other hand upon the failure of the citizenry to robustly engage the Council in seeking redress for market exploitations, abuses and malpractices.
In order to curb the odious menace of market escalation of fake, expired drugs and food products in Nigeria, the following urgent responses are recommended:
a. The Consumer Protection Council must embark on a massive nationwide sensitisation programme to apprise consumers of their rights, need to be vigilant in checking products before purchasing, lists of banned and unhealthy products, and redress procedure available to them.
b. The State Committees of the Council must be duly empowered and expanded to effectively superintend the consumer markets across the States, promptly respond to complaints, professionally carry out investigations into such complaints, and satisfactorily provide remedies to consumers;
c. The Council must ensure that drugs and food products without expiry dates are banned and flushed out from the markets; also it must especially be vigilant to the criminal practices of dealers who change the expiry dates originally inscribed on such products.
d. Verifiable codes of originality to be emblazoned on drugs and food products, to enable consumers confirm the authenticity of products before consumption.
e. Consumers must check the expiry dates of drugs and food products before purchasing.
f. Consumers should insist on receipts of purchase, especially when buying from supermarkets or pharmacy shops – this will be evidence that a product was purchased from a vendor in the event of redress proceedings before the Council or even a court of law;
g. Consumers should report producers, importers, dealers or vendors of fake or expired drugs and food products to the Council. The Council’s hotlines are: 08056002020, 08056003030. Email: contact@ cpc.gov.ng.
Moneke is Executive Director of Human Rights and Empowerment Project (HREP).