Originally published July 18 2008
by David Gutierrez
(NaturalNews) A Nigerian state judge has issued arrest warrants for three top Pfizer officials, saying that they failed to appear in court to face charges of illegally conducting drug trials that led to the deaths of 11 children.
Judge Shehu Atiku, sitting in the city of Kano, said that Nigerian Pfizer head Ngozi Edozien and senior company officials Lare Baale and Segun Donguro failed to appear in court in compliance with a Nov. 6 court order.
The state of Kano is seeking $2.6 billion from Pfizer, charging that the company illegally tested an experimental antibiotic, Trovan, on children in Kano during a meningitis outbreak in 1996. According to the government, the drug trials were carried out without the informed consent of the children's parents or the Nigerian government, and led to the deaths of 11 children. Dozens of other children were allegedly harmed by the drug.
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