A pharmaceutical firm in Kano State has called on the state Police boss, CP Wakili and the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Muhammed Adamu to revisit the issue of claims by the police that cartons of Tramadol were discovered in the company.
The firm, Ugolab manufacturing company has dissociated itself from the allegation, saying that what was found in the company were not cartons of Tramadol drugs but Diclofenac.
The Kano State police Command had in May last year claimed that its operatives recovered 303 cartons of prohibited Tramadol in the company.
CP Wakili Mohammed had while briefing newsmen at the Police Command Headquarters in Bompai, said the seizure, followed a tip-off, “prompting a police special squad to rush to the scene and impounded the 303 cartons of the hard drugs at No. 157 Miller Road, Bompai in Nassarawa LGA.”
The Police boss disclosed that during the raid, the police burst a syndicate at a drug factory even as he indicted Ugolab Manufacturing Company located along Bompai, Kano as the owners of the said illicit drugs.
But in a swift reaction, the management of the firm has refuted the claim by the police saying that what was recovered was Diclofenac and not Tramadol.
Production Process Manager of the Ugolab pharmaceutical company, Mr. Peter Eguabor, who spoke with newsmen in Lagos, said that the police did not come to the company on a tip-off as claimed by them.
“What happened was that there was a robbery incident at the company’s warehouse at about 3.53am on that fateful day. The robbers made away with four cartons of Diclofenac Sodium and Diphenhydramine HCL among others. The company invited the police. We called the control room and the police came.
“Trouble started when on arrival at the scene of the crime, the police officer who led the team opened a carton of Diclofenac and alleged that it was Tramadol. The police took three cartons away. Then around 11.am, the General Manager and the Quality Assurance manager went to give a statement and took with them a carton of the medicine, making four cartons. The police later came back around 2.pm to collect the remaining 352 cartons of the drugs”
He said General Manager, Chris Metu who called the Production Process Manager to ascertain what really happened in the company was arrested by the police.
According to the firm, when the police were asked to explain why the additional cartons were taken, their response was that “investigation is still on-going”.
Eguabor described the allegation of discovering Tramadol in the company was false and malicious.
“There was no justification for this wicked attempt that is aimed at destroying the company’s reputation. The allegation was based on the officer’s biased mindset. There were no professional laboratory analysis results to prove that the allegation was true. Therefore, I stand to debunk the false allegation that Tramadol was stored in Ugolab production Nigerian Limited”.
“Our staffs are still detained for the crime they did not commit. Pharm. Chris Metuh (General Manager of the company); Amino Safi, Usman Salihu (security men from M.S Guard Security Agency); and Musa Adamu, and others are still suffering for the crime they did not commit.
” We are appealing to the CP and the IGP to revisit the issue. The CP was misled, he may not know what really transpired, we want the police high command to solve the riddle.”
