Accra: The Court of Appeal in Accra has upheld a High Court judgement which ordered the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to pay over GHS30 million in damages to Tobinco Pharmaceuticals for the unlawful confiscation and destruction of the company's products. It held that the actions of the FDA, under the leadership of its former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Stephen Opuni, unlawfully detained Tobinco's drugs, occasioned losses, and caused damage to the reputation and business of the company.
According to Ghana Web, details of the ruling shared by thelawplatform.online showed how the judges, who unanimously ruled on the matter, condemned Dr Opuni's actions. They accused the former FDA Executive Director of abusing his powers through his decision to confiscate the properties of the company as well as cause the arrest of its leadership. The court also accused Dr Opuni of deliberately taking steps to hurt Tobinco, which was founded by Samuel Amo Tobbin.
'The evidence establishes clearly that the appellant's former CEO, Dr Opuni, exercised his powers not in an honest attempt to fulfil the appellant's statutory functions, but deliberately, with knowledge that his conduct was an abuse of his office, and with the intent to injure the Respondent's business,' part of the ruling read. The judges also stated that Dr Opuni declared Tobinco's products fake without justification. The court also held that the former CEO of the authority wrongly barred the importation of the company's products.
The court ruling highlighted multiple instances where Dr Opuni's actions were deemed inappropriate, including the public declaration that Tobinco's drugs were "fake" and may have "killed children," which was made without any scientific basis. Other actions included the arrest and detention of Tobinco's CEO and the CEO of Bliss GVS, coercion to sign declarations, and sweeping lock-ups of warehouses without proper notice.
Additionally, the ruling pointed out that Dr Opuni retroactively applied a ban to already lawfully imported goods, refused to process re-registration applications without providing reasons, and personally threatened to collapse Tobinco's business. Notably, products initially labeled as 'fake' were registered once Dr Opuni left office, indicating that his regulatory stance was personal rather than principled.