ABUJA, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Authorities in Nigeria say agricultural insecticides, which have been linked to recent cases of people killing themselves, will no longer be sold in shops from September.
Most of these high-strength insecticides can easily be bought in shops and from hawkers, but the regulatory agency, Nafdac, has ordered “brand owners/distributors to recall and withdraw their products” from markets and supermarkets.
In a series of measures announced on Twitter, they have also banned “hawking of all agro-chemical formulation” with immediate effect.
These insecticides have become popular for use in households because of their apparent effectiveness in dealing with pests.
WHO data shows Nigeria had an age-standardised suicide rate of 17.3 per 100,000 people in 2016, which placed it seventh on the continent.
Lesotho had the highest suicide rate on this score, at 28.9 suicide rates per 100,000 people. On the other side of the scale, Morocco had the lowest. — NNN-AGENCIES
