The Federal Ministry of Health on Wednesday said that its decision
to ban codeine as a pharmaceutical agent did not follow a report by the
BBC that highlighted the danger of the substance.
Olajide Oshundun, a ministry spokesperson, said a statement that
the announcement on May 1 only coincided with the publication of the BBC
documentary which started running on April 30.
“The body of the statement released by the ministry yesterday
indicated that a working committee had been constituted by the
government and they submitted an interim report,” he said.
“The memorandum was submitted on April 30 and it was due to
that the minister took the step to ban codeine and that is why the
statement was issued. It was only a coincidence that the government took
action almost immediately after BBC’s broadcast,” Mr Oshundun said.
“The government did not take action due to the report,” he emphasised. “The action was done as a result of the memorandum.”
The Committee on the Codeine Control Working and other related
Matter Group (CCRWG) was set up on January 23, by the Minister of Health
Isaac Adewole in Abuja.
In February, Oluwatoyin Odeku, a professor of pharmacy at the
University of Ibadan who chaired the CCRWG, provided an update about the
work of her committee and said codeine addition amongst married women
was on the rise.
The ministry also shared a link holding the memorandum document on
its website. The link showed that an immediate ban of codeine was the
first of 13 recommendations made by the committee.
The BBC reported on Tuesday that the ban on codeine came as a
result of its story, even though the broadcaster noted that a ministry
spokesperson had clarified that the action was the culmination of a long
time effort aimed at curbing codeine addiction and its attendant social
implications.
In 2016, an investigation by the Nigeria-based International Centre
for Investigative Reporting published a two-part investigation into how
codeine and other substantives were threatening a generation of young
Nigerians of northern origin.
The BBC story received widespread mention following its broadcast
on Monday, with Senate President Bukola Saraki and Aisha Buhari
commending the the British broadcaster for its public service endeavour.
Adejuwon Soyinka, a BBC news editor responsible for the story, did
not respond to requests for comments the ministry’s position on the
timing of codeine ban.