Nigeria's largest state, Kano, was embroiled yesterday in separate court battles against two of the West's largest multinationals who are both accused of actions that posed a serious damage to the health of Nigerian children. British American Tobacco (BAT) is being sued over documents that appear to show the company boosted its Nigerian market with a sales strategy that consciously targeted children.

Four Nigerian states, including the northern state of Kano, are seeking more than £19bn from BAT and other tobacco companies to cover the health treatment they estimate smokers will need, and as punitive damages. In a separate case, the New York-based pharmaceuticals giant, Pfizer, is being sued for £3.5bn over a drug trial conducted 11 years ago, which is already the subject of a prolonged battle in the US courts.

During a meningitis epidemic in Kano in 1996, Pfizer treated 100 infected children with an experimental antibiotic, Trovan. Another 100 children received an approved antibiotic but the families' lawyers allege the dose was slower-acting than was recommended. Eleven of the 200 children died, and 181 others reputedly suffered deafness, blindness, paralysis, or brain damage. The Kano state authorities claim the trial was conducted without parental permission.

But Pfizer's lawyer, Afe Babalola, claimed the trial was approved by Nigeria's federal government. "There was nothing fraudulent or surreptitious that my client did," he said. Pfizer has also consistently denied any of the deaths of children was linked to the Trovan experiment. Yesterday, Pfizer appealed to a judge in Kano City, the state capital, to dismiss the case on the grounds the state court lacked jurisdiction and papers had been served incorrectly. The ruling is expected on 20 July.

The case against the tobacco firms could be a profoundly damaging blow to an industry that has been relying on expansion in the developing world to compensate for shrinking sales in the US and the UK, where court cases and public health campaigns have produced a sharp drop in smoking. Smoking in Nigeria is rising, particularly among the young. In Lagos alone, there are almost 10,000 patients being treated for diseases believed to be tobacco related. Smoking in the Nigerian capital has increased 20 per cent in two decades.

Kano's state authorities were prompted to take legal action after the discovery of internal documents that were produced for the US tobacco company, Philip Morris, and for BAT, which imply they were buoyed by their success in selling cigarettes to children and teenagers.

Philip Morris, makers of Marlboro and other brands, is named in the indictment, although the company says it no longer sells cigarettes in Nigeria. BAT, makers of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and other brands, have by far the largest share of the Nigerian market, but categorically deny targeting children. The Kano state government claims that, since 1953, the companies have deceived the Nigerian public by not telling them that smoking was a health risk.

It is seeking a "mandatory injunction restraining the defendants from representing or portraying to minors or persons under the age of 18, any alluring and/or misleading image regarding tobacco-related products" as well as damages. The court case in Kano City opened yesterday. Two other states, Gombe and Oyo, will also begin court cases over the next four days. Lagos has already begun litigation.
(By Andy McSmith, The Independent, 05/07/2007)