A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment, two employees of Barewa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Adeyemo Abiodun and Ebele Eromosele, over the production of a baby killer syrup, My Pikin.
The judge also ordered that the company be closed and its assets forfeited to the Federal Government.
The company and its employees were charged on an amended six-count charge of the production of My Pikin after infants that used the drug started dying in 2008.
There was mild drama, midway into the judgment, as one of the convicts suddenly collapsed while the Judge read out his judgment.
Trial judge, Justice Okechukwu Okeke, in his judgment, convicted the accused on two counts, while he acquitted them on four counts.
The Judge accordingly sentenced the accused to seven years imprisonment each, while he ordered the company to be compulsorily wound up and its assets forfeited to the state.
My Pikin, a paracetamol-based syrup, used for treating sore gums, was found to have been contaminated with diethylene glycol, used as an engine coolant.
The mixture was found to contain engine coolant and it caused the babies’ kidneys to fail, which led to their deaths.
