Back to Pharmaceutical Liability

A judge in Nigeria has ordered the arrest of three top officials of the drug company Pfizer Inc., saying they failed to honor an order to appear in court over a $2 billion lawsuit the company is facing for a 1996 drug trial.

Judge Shehu Atiku, said his ruling on November 6 said that the officials of the Pfizer subsidiary in Nigeria should appear in court were not heeded at that resumed sitting. The officials to be arrested include the head of Pfizer in Nigeria, Ngozi Edozien and senior officials Lare Baale and Segun Donguro.

The controversial trials for the antibiotic Trovan& were conducted in Kano on 200 children during a meningitis epidemic in 1996. Nigeria alleges Pfizer conducted the trials illegally, without the full knowledge and consent of the government and the parents, causing the death of 11 children and injuring many others.

A message left with Pfizer was not immediately returned, but Pfizer has always denied any wrongdoing, insisting the drug saved lives.

Nigeria's Kano state and the federal government have instituted separate civil and criminal cases against Pfizer. The federal authorities demand $7 billion in damages.

Reference:

"Nigerian judge orders arrest of 3 Pfizer officials over drug trials lawsuit," AP, December 2007.