The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Pikin

  • Talents emerge as Calabar Festival gathers momentum

    The city of Calabar is abuzz with activities at this year’s edition of the annual month-long Calabar Festival, which kicked off last Saturday, with the historic lighting of the touted biggest Christmas tree in Africa.

    Reports say while the population of returnee indigenes is swelling, youths of school age can’t wait to get back from their sojourn to join the festivity.

    In its effort at galvanising the young ones into useful ventures, the state, yesterday discovered more talents to boost the entertainment industry.

    Tagged: Calabar Got Talent, the initiative is one of several activities in the ongoing festival calendar, targeted at discovering budding talents and nurturing same to stardom.

    Undeterred by the early morning downpour, the crowd gathered for what has now become a ground for the discovery of new talents. The platform, it is said, also offers them opportunity to win scholarships.

    With the excited audience acting as judges at the show, which held at the Millennium Park, a comedian, a rapper and a dancer were discovered.

    The show also featured notable Nigerian home-groom artistes like Teego, Uncle Eddie, Naughty Jay and another Calabar Festival discovery, Pikin, who added so much fun and laughter to the evening.

  • My Pikin teething syrup had ‘deadly contaminants’, court told

    My Pikin teething syrup had ‘deadly contaminants’, court told

    A  Federal High Court, Ikoyi, yesterday heard that the alleged killer teething syrup, My Pikin, was produced with deadly “contaminants”.

    A prosecution witness, Momodu Segiru-Momodu said the medication’s components were found to be harmful, after a laboratory analysis.

    He was testifying in the trial of a company, Barewa Pharmaceutical Company Limited and others, who were charged with producing the syrup.

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) charged the firm, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gbadegeshin Okunlola and two of its employees – Adeyemo Abiodun and Egbele Eromosele – before Justice Okechukwu Okeke.

    Okunlola, a pharmacist, died last October 27. He was 58.

    This necessitated the striking out of his name from the charge.

    The defendants were re-arraigned on January 7, following the amendment of the charge. But they pleaded not guilty and were granted bail.

    Segiru-Momodu, who is NAFDAC’s Director, Chemical and Evaluation Research, said the analysis was professionally conducted and that there was no doubt about the syrup’s deadly content.

    Led in evidence by the prosecutor, Aminu Alilu, the witness told the court that in January 2009 at the Yaba office of NAFDAC, he received a sealed package containing samples of My Pikin teething mixture with batch number 02008.

    The witness said he was Deputy Director in charge of Laboratory at that time and, therefore, took the samples for an analysis.

    According to him, the samples were analysed in line with normal scientific procedure.

    Segiru-Momodu said the analysis showed the product contained contaminants called “diaethylene glycol”.

    The witness said samples were again taken to the NAFDAC Central Laboratory in Oshodi, Lagos, for confirmation by a qualitative and quantitative estimation of the products.

    He said at the Oshodi laboratory, an advanced analytical technique was used with an instrument called “gas liquid chromatograph”.

    The trial is expected to continue today.

  • My Pikin teething syrup: NAFDAC to continue evidence April 17

    Federal High Court in Lagos will tomorrow continue hearing in the case against Barewa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, charged with the production of an alleged killer teething syrup, My Pikin.

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) took the company before Justice Okechukwu Okeke of a Federal High Court in Lagos.

    The case could not go on yesterday because of the absence of Justice Okechukwu Okeke, who was said to be away on an official assignment.

    The court adjourned hearing.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the company, with two of its employees, Ebele Eromosele and Adeyemo Abiodun, are facing a six-count charge on the alleged offence.

    The accused were re-arraigned on January 7, following the amendment of the charge before the court, in which the name of the company’s late Managing Director, Mr Kola Gbadegeshin, was struck out.

    They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge and were granted bail by the court.

    The prosecutor, Mr Aminu Alilu, had informed the court that the second accused, Eromosele, had been appointed by the defence to stand for the company, since the first accused was deceased.

    At the last hearing, the prosecutor called its second witness, a pharmacist, who testified that it ended ties with the defendant company when he learnt of the mishap allegedly caused by My Pikin. NAN recalls that My Pikin teething syrup was alleged to have killed over 80 children in the country.

    The prosecutor said the offences contravened Section 1 (a) of the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs, (Miscellaneous provisions) Act No. 25 of 1999.

     

  • My Pikin maker dies

    Three years after he was arrested and charged with murder, production and distribution of adulterated drugs, Kola Gbadegbesin Okunlola, the manufacturer of ‘My Pikin’ teething mixture, has died.

    He was charged along with his company, Barewa Pharmaceutical Company Limited and two of its workers, Adeyemo Abiodun and Egbele Austin Eromosele.

    They were arraigned before Justice Okechukwu Okeke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on March 8, 2009 on a six-count charge of manufacturing and distributing adulterated drugs.

    They pleaded not guilty and were later granted bail.

    Okunlola was equally charged with murder at a Kaduna High Court.

    The case was later struck out for lack of diligent prosecution.

    Okunola’s name is expected to be struck off the charge when hearing resumes tomorrow.

    It was learnt that Okunlola died at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, where he was admitted when he suffered a stroke. He died on October 27 at 58.

    The deceased’s lawyer, Osaro Eghobamien (SAN), and his son, Femi, confirmed the development.

    Eghobamien said his late client had suffered from failing health since his arrest in 2008, which aided his bail application.

    There will be a wake on November 14. He will be buried November 16 at the Ikoyi Cemetery, Lagos.