Secret Cable Discusses Pfizer’s Actions in Nigeria Case
Wikileaks continues to provide useful information—though perhaps some will believe the denials reported below. (I don’t.) Thanks to TYD for pointing out this NY Times article by Duff Wilson:
Pfizer was accused of hiring investigators “to uncover corruption links” to Nigeria’s former attorney general and apply pressure to drop lawsuits against the company over a controversial 1996 test of antibiotics on children with meningitis, according to a secret State Department cable that related a company official’s account.
Pfizer, the world’s largest drug company, denied the cable’s allegation, which was contained in documents released by WikiLeaks. The cable indicated that the information alleging corruption on the part of the attorney general was spread through the media to publicly pressure him to drop the lawsuits.
“Any notion that the company hired investigators in connection to the former attorney general is simply preposterous,” Christopher Loder, a spokesman at Pfizer’s New York headquarters, said on Friday.
The former attorney general, Michael K. Aondoakaa, told The Associated Press that he knew nothing of any Pfizer attempt to investigate him. “If they were doing it behind my back, it’s very unfortunate,” he was quoted as saying.
Last fall, Mr. Aondoakaa dismissed a $6 billion lawsuit and criminal charges as part of a settlement agreement with Pfizer, after allegations that the drug maker’s experiment with antibiotics resulted in the deaths of Nigerian children. Pfizer contested the cause of the children’s deaths, but ultimately settled with the country for $75 million in one case, according to a Pfizer filing in November. Mr. Loder said the money was to pay Nigeria’s lawyers in the case.
Last year, the Nigerian state of Kano, where the experiments occurred, also accepted a $75 million settlement to drop criminal charges and a civil suit seeking more than $2 billion. Mr. Aondoakaa was not involved in the Kano settlement.
In the cable, dated April 20, 2009, United States officials described an April 9 meeting in Lagos with Enrico Liggeri, Pfizer’s company manager in Nigeria.
“According to Liggeri,” the cable says, “Pfizer had hired investigators to uncover corruption links to federal attorney general Michael Aondoakaa to expose him and put pressure on him to drop the federal cases. He said Pfizer’s investigators were passing this information to local media.”
The cable continued: “A series of damaging articles detailing Aondoakaa’s ‘alleged’ corruption ties were published in February and March. Liggeri contended that Pfizer had much more damaging information on Aondoakaa and that Aondoakaa’s cronies were pressuring him to drop the suit for fear of further negative articles.”
In seeking comment, Pfizer would say only that Mr. Liggeri was still employed as a manager in Nigeria, but it would not say whether the company had talked with him since the cable became public. Mr. Aondoakaa was not charged with any offenses.
Another part of the cable covers . . .
