Cynthia: ‘Sale of drugs not criminal’
Cynthia Osokogu
The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has faulted
the arraignment of two pharmacists, Orji Osita and Maduakor Chukwunonso, for the
murder of Cynthia Osokogu, who was killed on July 22, 2012.
Orji and Maduakor were alongside Okwmo Nwabufo
and Ezike Olisaeloka on Monday at a Yaba Chief Magistrate Court. They were
charged with eight offences.
But at a press conference on Thursday, the
President, PSN, Mr. Azubike Okwor, said both pharmacists were people who should
have punished separately if at all.
He said, “If the liability of the two
pharmacists is limited to the alleged sales of Rohypnol to clients they do not
know and never collaborated with in this condemnable crime, then it is logical
to believe that at best there might have been breaches of professional ethics.
It should not constitute criminal offences.
“The law provides that such matters are dealt
with by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, a regulatory agency of the Federal
Government established by Cap. P.17 LFN 2004.
“Maduakor was on duty in Oxpharm on Monday,
August 20, 2012 when a gentleman requested to buy Rohypnol. Nonso asked him for
a prescription and he said he does not have one. The gentleman begged Maduakor
who considered his request on compassionate grounds and dispensed to him one (1)
card of 10 tablets of flunitrazapam along with one (1) card of paracetamol.
The gentleman later came with other persons,
arrested Nonso and accused him of selling drug without prescription. They then
took him to the police station and detained him. On the seventh day, they
transferred him to Panti, where he was taken to a magistrate’s court and was
charged with conspiracy, murder, armed robbery, rape and administering obnoxious
substances to Miss Cynthia Osokogu who was killed by two known persons a month
earlier in July 2012.
“Orji is a locum pharmacist with Oxpharm and
works evening shifts. The police alleged that he was the pharmacist on duty when
the suspected killer of Cynthia bought Rohypnol from Oxpharm. Osita made
statement that he did not know the murderers and could not recall meeting them.
He was also detained and taken to the court and charged.
“We urge the Office of the Public Prosecution in
the Ministry of Justice to immediately review the cases of these pharmacists
with a view to advising the relevant authorities on how best to tackle this
matter and to ensure that the innocent is not persecuted unjustly.”
August 31, 2012 by Motunrayo Aboderin and
Sodiq Oyeleke
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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