While many thousands fell ill during the Kano epidemic, Pfizer's doctors treated 200 children, half with Trovan and half with the best meningitis drug used in the US at the time, ceftriaxone. Five children died on Trovan and six on ceftriaxone, which for the company was a good result. But later it was claimed Pfizer did not have proper consent from parents to use an experimental drug on their children and there were questions over the documentation of the trial. Trovan was licensed for adults in Europe, but later withdrawn because of fears of liver toxicity.

The cable claims that Liggeri said Pfizer, which maintains the trial was well-conducted and any deaths were the direct result of the meningitis itself, was not happy about settling the Kano state cases, "but had come to the conclusion that the $75m figure was reasonable because the suits had been ongoing for many years costing Pfizer more than $15m a year in legal and investigative fees".

In an earlier meeting on 2 April between two Pfizer lawyers, Joe Petrosinelli and Atiba Adams, Liggeri, the US ambassador and the economic section[b], it had been suggested that Pfizer owed the favourable outcome of the federal cases to former Nigerian head of state Yakubu Gowon[/b].

He had interceded on Pfizer's behalf with the Kano state governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau – who directed that the state's settlement demand should be reduced from $150m to $75m – and with the Nigerian president. "Adams reported that Gowon met with President Yar'Adua and convinced him to drop the two federal high court cases against Pfizer," the cable says.

But five days later Liggeri, without the lawyers present, enlarged on the covert operation against Aondoakaa.

The cable says Liggeri went on to suggest that the lawsuits against Pfizer "were wholly political in nature".

He alleged that Médecins sans Frontières, which was in the same hospital in Kano, "administered Trovan to other children during the 1996 meningitis epidemic and the Nigerian government has taken no action".

MSF – which was the first to raise concerns about the trial – vehemently denies this. Jean-Hervé Bradol, former president of MSF France, said: "We have never worked with this family of antibiotic. We don't use it for meningitis. That is the reason why we were shocked to see this trial in the hospital."

There is no suggestion that the attorney general was swayed by the pressure. However, the dropping of the federal cases provoked suspicion in Nigeria. Last month, the Nigerian newspaper Next ran a story headlined, "Aondoakaa's secret deal with Pfizer".

The terms of the agreement that led to the withdrawal of the $6bn federal suit in October 2009 against Pfizer "remain unknown because of the nature of [the] deal brokered by … Mike Aondoakaa", it said. Pfizer and the Nigerian authorities had signed a confidentiality agreement. "The withdrawal of the case, as well as the terms of settlement, is a highly guarded secret by the parties involved in the negotiation," the article said.

Aondoakaa expressed astonishment at the claims in the US cable when approached by the Guardian. "I'm very surprised to see I became a subject, which is very shocking to me," he said. "I was not aware of Pfizer looking into my past. For them to have done that is a very serious thing. I became a target of a multinational: you are supposed to have sympathy with me … If it is true, maybe I will take legal action."

Aondoakaa expressed astonishment at the claims in the US cable when approached by the Guardian. "I'm very surprised to see I became a subject, which is very shocking to me," he said. "I was not aware of Pfizer looking into my past. For them to have done that is a very serious thing. I became a target of a multinational: you are supposed to have sympathy with me … If it is true, maybe I will take legal action."

Mai Suya:

I tried to get the original story from SR archives, but it appeared to be missing. . .



SR had claimed that AON was the arrowhead behind the then proposed out of court settlement, and that he was asking for about $20millon in bribe b4 the FG would agree to it.

it's th4 not surprising that Pfizer would also choose to play the blackmail game: seeking skeletons from AOND closet--which, given his antecedents, should be too hard to find. . .

why is he now 'forming' surprise?

~Bluetooth:

Aondoakaa is the scape-goat here

sweetguy10:


The man na fool ja re , at least this should Implicate him enough

Kobojunkie:


Seriously, what do you folks gain from TWISTING even that which comes to you written in CLEAR CONCISE LANGUAGE? Most all you have above is fabricated since the original cable which is claimed to be the source of this information DOES NOT contain more than half of what you have above. Why TWIST the truth even when a good source, and possibly the only legit one you will get on this is right in front of your face?

The terms of the agreement that led to the withdrawal of the $6bn federal suit in October 2009 against Pfizer "remain unknown because of the nature of [the] deal brokered by … Mike Aondoakaa", it said. Pfizer and the Nigerian authorities had signed a confidentiality agreement. "The withdrawal of the case, as well as the terms of settlement, is a highly guarded secret by the parties involved in the negotiation," the article said.

Mai Suya:

I'm not twisting anything, madam. I was only tryin to highlight the fact that there's more to this case than what a few lines of the cable appears to show. The story seems to portray AON as an innocent victim of of pfizer's scheming. That is [i]anything [/i]but true.

This, for instance. . .
. . .should ring a bell.

I unfortunately don't have time to start diggin thru the archives for more articles on the TROVAN case, sooooo. . .

Mai Suya:

I'm not twisting anything, madam. I was only tryin to highlight the fact that there's more to this case than what a few lines of the cable appears to show. The story seems to portray AON as an innocent victim of of pfizer's scheming. That is [i]anything [/i]but true.

This, for instance. . .
. . .should ring a bell.

I unfortunately don't have time to start diggin thru the archives for more articles on the TROVAN case, sooooo. . .

Fynist:

I can hardly bliv all diz bull.Anyways d black book of evil in Nigeria is been revealed page by page.What are we gonna find on the last page?Thats what scares me.And what are we gonna do about it!!!

bababuff:

Gowon

ola olabiy:

Gowon will soon organise his 'Nigeria Pray'.

I dey laugh oo.

Omenani:

This is the question you should be asking. However, I will given you an answer. People will not do anything concerning these leaks, because many people in Nigeria have no spine. It is a country filled with sycophants.

Kobojunkie:


Seriously, what do you folks gain from TWISTING even that which comes to you written in CLEAR CONCISE LANGUAGE? Most all you have above is fabricated since the original cable which is claimed to be the source of this information DOES NOT contain more than half of what you have above. Why TWIST the truth even when a good source, and possibly the only legit one you will get on this is right in front of your face?

okeyxyz:

What r these "twists" u talk about?
that he pointed to another version of this story by SR, a third party , investigative news agency, or that he chose to believe them(SR)?, just like you have chosen to believe the cables absolutely?

Kobojunkie:

uum . . .  SR claims it's source is the CABLE itself. So it makes sense that all those who have access to the Cable, which remains the ORIGINAL SOURCE OF THIS NEWS, take their story FROM THE CABLE itself, and not SR's TWIST/OPINION on the original story. I would think that is common sense, or is it not?

n May of that year Mr Omoyele, who runs the news and opinion website Sahara Reporters, published an article alleging that Nigeria's Attorney General, Michael Aondoakaa, had sought bribes from Pfizer in order to facilitate an out-of-court settlement. It reported claims that Mr Aondoakaa schemed to receive payment of US$10m via his cousin, a Nigerian living in Texas called Paul Orhii, whom he had brought into the case as an expert witness.

"At the time Sahara Reporters was developing a reputation for breaking stories involving high-level corruption in Nigeria, which lies near the bottom of Transparency International's global. . . . .
. . .But there remain underlying concerns. Quoting sources, Mr Omoyele says he was sued by Mr Orhii as part of a deal with the Nigerian authorities under which the latter was appointed to an important government post - Director General of the Nigerian National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control - while the case was still pending.

The speed with which Orhii was engaged has been described by a foreign news agency as “Nigeria’s quickest hiring in 48 years”. The fact that he had no record in the type of class action instituted against Pfizer also fuelled criticism by Nigerians in and outside the country.
Aondoakaa and Orhii are from Benue State and it was alleged that the AGF brought Orhii into the legal team prosecuting the case against Pfizer to enable him (AGF) corner a portion of the deal, which Pfizer might pay as settlement in the suit.
The Niger

Mai Suya:


errr. . .madam i beg to differ. SR never claimed to have obtained the story from the cables. it was the result of their independent investigations. all we have is the claim, by liggeri--who could be lying by the way--that it was pfizer selling these stories to news media

http://www.saharareporters.com/report/nigeria-case-real-life-thriller-africa-graft-story-ends-new-york-texas
and
GIMME A BLEEPIN' BREAK!!!!!!!!
that somehow AOND, given his past, was innocent in all this is something I just cannot, and will not buy. . .soory madam