A Federal High Court in Calabar has sentenced four persons, including alleged drug dealer Isidora Ezea, to eight and a half years imprisonment each for operating unregistered pharmacy premises and illegally dispensing medicines.
The defendants were convicted in suit No. FHC/CA/76C/2025 filed by the Federal Republic of Nigeria over breaches of pharmacy regulations.
Delivering judgment, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu found the defendants guilty on five counts relating to the operation of unregistered pharmacy premises and the dispensing of drugs through unlicensed personnel.
However, the court discharged and acquitted them on three counts bordering on the alleged unlawful reopening of pharmacies previously sealed by regulatory authorities.
During the trial, prosecutors told the court that officials of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) sealed two pharmacies operated by the defendants during an enforcement exercise.
Evidence showed that business activities later resumed at the premises despite the regulatory action.
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Justice Ojukwu ruled that the prosecution failed to prove that the defendants unlawfully broke the seals, noting that officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had authorised the reopening of the premises.
Since the prosecution did not challenge that evidence, the court held that the defendants could not be held liable for acting on the instructions of law enforcement officers.
The judge, however, stressed that the pharmacies continued operating despite clear regulatory violations, describing strict compliance with pharmacy laws as essential for safeguarding public health.
Having found the defendants guilty on counts one to five, the court sentenced each of them to eight and a half years imprisonment.
Justice Ojukwu also ordered security agencies to arrest the convicts, who were absent during the judgment, and ensure they serve their jail terms or alternatively pay a fine of N11 million each.
