Justice A. Liman of the Federal high court sitting in Kano has granted an exparte application restraining further action against the Patent Medicine Dealers in Kano pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit brought before it.

The Sabon Gari Medicine Dealers had filed applications on enforcement of their fundamental human right over the seal of their premises in the Sabon Gari and Mallam Kato area of the market by the combined team of security including the Nigerian Army and other law enforcement agencies.

The drug vendors under the auspices of the Nigerian Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers are challenging the deployment of the security agencies by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) to take control of their goods and alleged harassment of its members.

Although NAFDAC and TCN had recently secured judgment of the court, directing the medicine dealers to vacate Sabon Gari market and relocate to the Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC) in Dungurawa village, the medicine vendors insisted the military harassment of its members was a violation of their fundamental rights.

When the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday, counsels to NAFDAC, Datti Sunnono, and his counterpart from PCN Barr. E.C Mbadiwe sought more time to properly file response to the applicant’s motion.

They two respondents also drew the attention of the court to the subsisting judgment that ordered the applicant to relocate to the new centre provided by the federal government for easy regulation of the drug market in Kano.

In a counter argument, counsel to the applicant Barr. Abdulazeez Adam told the court that the respondents have not justification to needlessly drag the case beyond the ample period, after they were duly served.

Although Adam stressed that he has no objection should the case is further adjourned for hearing, the applicant lawyer however pledged the court to grant his exparte application to enable the drug dealer access their property.

In his ruling, Justice Liman directed all parties to maintain status quo while adjourned the matter till 16^th April, 2024 for hearing on the foundation human right.

Justice Simon Amobeda thereafter ordered the Kano medicine dealers to vacate Sabon Gari and relocate to CWC.

In his Judgment held on 17^th February, 2024, Justice Amobeda insisted the medicine vendors lacks the locus standing to institute the suit as they are not the body that can grant licence to wholesalers of pharmaceutical products, they deal mainly with over the counter sellers.

Justice Amobeda also declared that the drugs dealers lack jurisdiction as the suit would not input any benefits or detriment to it. He added that suit is an abuse of court process as their has been an earlier case which the court had decided on the 30^th June in favour of the Defendants.

“In respective of how this new suit is formed, the result sought is the same of the earlier case. Hence, it is an abuse of court processes. In summary, the preliminary objection filed was upheld that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the same matter twice.

“However, because of the nature of the case, the court went ahead to decide on the substantial issues, in case parties decide to appeal and the appellate court holds that the court has jurisdiction; that the allegations of threatened arrest is unsubstantiated and vague.

“On whether the Members cannot do business freely, the Plaintiff and its members need to obey their parent body as there is no ploy to hamper their rights to trade. Whether the constitution is supreme to the PCN Act, the court held that the PCN Act is not in anyway in conflict with the provisions of the constitution.” (The Guardian)

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