2007年VOA标准英语-Nigeria to File New Lawsuit Against US Pharmace

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
20 July 2007

Nigeria says it has discovered new material it believes will strengthen its $7 billion lawsuit¹ agains the U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and has withdrawn² the case in preparation for filing a new lawsuit. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa reports from Abuja.

 

An Abuja court Friday accepted the withdrawal³ of the $7 billion lawsuit by Nigerian government lawyers against U.S. pharmaceutical⁴ giant Pfizer.

The Nigerian government has accused Pfizer of taking advantage of a 1996 meningitis epidemic⁵ to test an experimental drug without the authorization⁶ or full understanding of the families involved in the trials - allegedly contributing to the deaths of some of the children and sickening others. Pfizer denies wrongdoing.

 

The lead lawyer for the Nigerian government, Babatunde Irukera, told VOA that lawyers recently discovered material that suggested Pfizer committed fraud.

 

"It was a legal strategy to expand what we believe our claims are." said Irukera. "We sought to amend⁷ the statement of claim before the court and the request was denied. And we believe the material we wanted to put before the court is vital to a fair and judicious⁸ adjudication of the case."

The government says now that the case has been withdrawan, it will be refiled with the new evidence.

 

Proceedings⁹ have so far being bogged¹⁰ down by legal technicalities. Pfizer's lead counsel, Afe Babalola, argues the government has not been very convincing in defending its case.

"This is not the first time they [government] is running into problems," said Babalola. "As it is now, the case is out of court. My client [Pfizer] will be happy that every step taken so far has been successful for them."

 

But Irukera says the evidence against Pfizer is overwhelming.

 

"We believe that the case the federal government has against Pfizer is a good case," he said. "There is overwhelming evidence that Pfizer perpetrated all kinds of fraudulent activities and also engaged in these trials illegally."

"There are victims who are living today, there are some families of the victims who have died, what they understood at the time Pfizer came to Nigeria was that Pfizer was volunteering treatment. They did not think they were volunteering their children as guinea pigs for clinical examination," he continuted.

 

Pfizer has sought to have the case thrown out on the grounds that Nigerian law required that the lawsuit to be filed within six years of the incident. Pfizer also insists it obtained authorization for the drug trials.

1 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

2 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

3 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

5 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

6 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

7 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

8 judicious   

adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的

参考例句：

• We should listen to the judicious opinion of that old man.我们应该听取那位老人明智的意见。
• A judicious parent encourages his children to make their own decisions.贤明的父亲鼓励儿女自作抉择。

9 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

10 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》