Dr. Samuel Amo Tobbin, Chairman of Tobinco Pharmaceuticals, said that he and his business partner were forced to sign a letter admitting to wrongdoing during their arrest in 2013 by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), now called the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB).
On September 13, 2013, Dr. Tobbin and his partner, Mr. Kamath, were stopped for allegedly importing fake drugs.
They were held and questioned for almost a day without being charged. Later, they had to report to the NIB office daily and were questioned further.
In an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV, Dr. Tobbin explained that they were pressured into signing a letter admitting to importing fake drugs to be released.
They didn’t realize that this letter would be used publicly as evidence against them.
“On the fourth day, they brought a letter for us to sign in order to be released. They wrote that we admit to importing fake products.
One was on my letterhead and another on my partner’s letterhead. We wanted our freedom, so we thought that we would be released.
“I signed and my friend also signed. Little did we know that this guy [Dr Stephen Opuni] wanted those documents to publish that we have admitted yes indeed we brought those products. We signed the letter under duress.
“Amazingly, from that time, the whole thing started. We saw that when we stay quiet, this guy will destroy both companies and my name.
A company that I have built from infancy, hawking on the streets, building it gradually to that level. And at that time we were having about over 700 staff for Tobinco alone.
So, when it happened like that, we started moving out to the media. We had to tell our story for people to know that what was bought out was not right.”
Dr. Tobbin stated that he was wrongly accused of importing counterfeit products. While some of the products had expired registration dates, not all of them were expired or counterfeit.
He explained, “Some of the products had expired registration dates, but non-expired products were wrongly included in the allegations.”
On August 11, TPL and its Chairman, Elder Dr. Tobbin, were cleared of the allegations of importing counterfeit drugs into Ghana.
This ruling, made by Her Ladyship Audrey Kocuvie-Tay at the High Court in Accra on July 29, 2024, goes against the claims made by Dr. Opuni.
The legal dispute began on July 19, 2019, when Tobinco Pharmaceuticals Limited sued the FDA, accusing it of misusing its powers.
After a decade-long legal battle, Elder Dr. Tobbin has been fully exonerated, with the court ruling in his favor and clearing him of all charges.
