The Federal Goverment of Nigeria claimed $8.5 billion USD case against Pfizer international over the trovan test in1996 at kano resulted to the death of hundreds childrens while some became paralysed, kano state goverment has confirmed moves for an out-of-court settlement for speedy releaf to the victims who are still a live and facing serious hardship in life over the Trovan test.
Speaking to Journalists shortly after two sittings of civil and criminal case of the Pfizer Trovan test case, the kano state Attorney-General and commissioner for Justice Barrister Aliyu Umar said the whole of the claims and settlements moves out side court are in the interest of the people because if a case can be settled outside court is more important then following the long term legal processes.
Barrister Aliyu acknowledged that goverment will not at any lengths jeopardise the interests of its people who is more paramount then the 2 billion dollars they are seeking from the multipurpose international drugs company. He also at the allegations describing them as political which he was big enough to respond to, saying,’ one should know that as Barrister Aliyu umar can’t naswer this question or allegations because its totally false and untrue. because everyones knew that we are operating sharia legal system which demanded everyone of us as a leader to defend the interests of his peoplec die for his subject interest and that is exactly what we are doing;’, he enomureted.
The Pfizer case hearing which sitting at Kano High cour also adjourned to 6th November, 2007 following application by the counsel to the applicant Barrister Aliyu Umar praying the courts to allow him use the state police comissioner sent notice to the 10 accused persons. Granting the application by counsel to the plaintiff who is also the state attorney general, the presiding judge, Justice Atiku accepted to adjourned and consented to the request that the state police commissioner be used to sent notice to all the 10 respondents in the case out of which 5 are foreigners to enable them appear in court. Justice Shehu also explained that the adjournment is in line with the provisions of section 47 sub-section (1) (6) and section 50 sub-section (1) (6) of the criminal procedural code (CPC), which stipulated that all accused persons must be served notice to appear before the court as presented by Kano state DPP.
Barrister Umar explained that his application is inline with need that the accused person as provided in session 154 of PCP, be served with criminal sermon not to arrest them, arguing that it is better solution in the interest of the case. He said the nature of the case demand that the accused persons appears before the court, adding that presently the accused persons are not in court because they are not aware of the court sitting and some of them are even not in the country.
According to him, if the state police commission which he, as the state attorney general can give directive handles the dispatch of the sermon, it will also help the court. In a brief chat with news men, the counsel to the Mutli-national drug company, barrister Anthony Idigbe (SAN), who did not appear officially in court, said he was not dress for the sitting because he has not been served with notion of case. Barrister Anthony Idigbe (SAN) said “the delay is on the part of the state, they have not served us with the notion. Like I have always said Nigerians as a good judicial system, no court will accept jurisdiction unless there is proper service”.
It would be recalled that the counsel to Pfizer was in court in the last sitting but did not appeal officially because he was not served with the notice of the case while some reliable sources from the pfizer company told GROUNDREPORT in kano that due to threatening by federal government to arrest them they decline to attend the court sitting in kano. Kano state attorney general, Barrister Aliyu Umar filed two separate suits against Pfizer company on a criminal and civil charges in the State High Courts 1 and 2, and both case suffers another setback following adjournment in both courts.
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