My Pikin: Appeal Court fixes July 11 for hearing

The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, yesterday fixed Thursday, July 11 for the hearing of an appeal filed by the convicted producers of My Pikin teething mixture. Read more

Presided over by Justice J.S. Ikyegh, the court’s decision followed the respondents’ plea for time to enable them file their response to the appellants’ applications seeking bail for the convicts, pending the determination of the appeal; an application seeking departure from the Rules of the Court as well as an accelerated hearing of the appeal.

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which is the respondent, on May 17 got judgment against the appellants before Justice Okechukwu Okeke of a Federal High Court, Lagos, now retired.

The judge had convicted the appellants, Egbele Austin Eromosele and Adeyemo Abiodun and sentenced them to seven years inprisonment while ruling that their firm, Barewa Pharmaceuticals Limited, be wound up and its assets forfeited to the Federal Government.

He convicted them of conspiracy and sale of dangerous drugs, to which counsel to the convicts, Osaro Eghobamien (SAN), on same day, filed a notice of appeal.

Eghobamien on July 3 filed a 14-ground amended Notice of Appeal, where he contested the judgment and insisted that Justice Okechukwu erred in law by failing to consider the evidence of the defence but relied wholly on the unsworn statement of Defence Witness 1 (DW1).

“The learned trial Judge erred in law in convicting my clients for conspiracy and sale of dangerous drugs, relying on unsustainable evidence in the absence of either direct evidence of identified victims who may have consumed the drugs, or autopsy/forensic reports in proof of the alleged deaths as a result of taking the drugs,” he stated.

Eghobamien averred that the conviction was unreasonable, unwarranted and could not be sustained, having regard to the evidence.

At the resumed hearing yesterday, Eghobamien informed the court of the appellants’ two pending applications (for bail and accelerated hearing) and expressed his desire to proceed with the applications.

But counsel to the respondent, J. Kadiri of Mike Ozekhome Chambers, informed the court that they were served on July 4 and would need time to reply.

In its ruling, the court held that due to the nature and urgency of the case, hearing of the appeals should be fixed for Monday, July 8, and directed the respondent to file its reply.

Culled from The Nation newspaper