Pfizer to contest "illegal" Nigerian govt actions

Global drug behemoth Pfizer has welcomed the release on bail of Segun Donguro, who had been arrested by the Kano State Police in Nigeria, and has promised to use every legal means to challenge what it terms "the illegal arrest and intimidation of its former and current employees." Arrest orders against Ngozi Edozien, the firm's senior manager in Nigeria, and another executive, Lare Baale, remain in force pending an appeal by Pfizer.

Three legal challenges have been launched by Pfizer in the Kano State Court, the Court of Appeal and a Lagos State Court (Marketletter January 14). Chris Loder, a spokesman for the drug major, told the Nigerian Tribune newspaper that "the Nigerian government has repeatedly evaded its own laws and violated the human rights of Nigerian citizens in its efforts to press its legal claims against Pfizer and its former staff."

Pfizer claims arrests violated court ruling about Lagos versus Kano jurisdiction