More stellar corporate behavior in Nigeria

Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant, told U.S. officials that it had hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on Nigeria’s attorney general in order to pressure him to drop a lawsuit against the firm. An April 20, 2009 cable recounts a conversation between embassy officials and Pfizer Country Manager Enrico Liggeri in Lagos:

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, XXXXXXXXXXXX. 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.

The case in question dates back to 1996, when Pfizer carried out a pharmaceutical trial for a meningitis vaccine in the country’s north. Victims claim that almost a dozen people died after receiving the inoculations, and more were immobilized due to the side effects of the drug. Nigeria sued Pfizer in 2001. At the time of the cable, Pfizer was finalizing a settlement with the local government where the vaccinations occured. (The embassy expressed concern about the settlement being handed over in cash to local officials without accountability.)

This is about more than just a dozen people, though. Pfizer’s trials — and the repercussions they are alleged to have had — left a lasting legacy in northern Nigeria: Ever since, people there have refused to vaccinate their children. It’s no coincidence that polio’s last refuge is in many of these same communities. The cable understates the impact in a comment at the end: "Pfizer’s image in Nigeria has been damaged due to this ongoing case."