VOA常速英语2008年-Nigerian Government Lawyers Work on Settlement

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
21 April 2008

Lawyers representing Nigeria's federal government say they have begun work on an out-of-court settlement with U.S. pharmaceutical¹ giant Pfizer in the legal dispute over a controversial clinical trial by the company in Nigeria. Gilbert da Costa reports for VOA from Abuja.

A Nigerian court has postponed² to May 20 the case in which U.S. drugmaker Pfizer is seeking to quash a government report on a disputed clinical trial by the company,

The federal government and Kano state are suing Pfizer for a total of $8.5 billion and pressing criminal charges in connection with the 1996 testing of the drug Trovan on Nigerian children in the northern Kano state.

Eleven children allegedly died, and dozens of others suffered permanent health problems. Pfizer has rejected the charges. It says the alleged³ victims were afflicted⁴ by meningitis, not the drug.

Lead counsel for the federal government, Maryam Uwais, told reporters the Nigerian government has been approached by Pfizer and the U.S. government for a negotiated resolution.

She says while the Nigerian government is well disposed to settling the matter out of court, it will not back down on key demands.

"All I can say is that there has been an offer from them [Pfizer]. Which we found unacceptable and we made a counter offer," she said. "We are not averse⁵ to a reasonable settlement so long as it addresses the issues that have arisen from the trial. If they are able to address these issues to our satisfaction then there is no need for a trial. But whether it is possible or not will depend on how they conduct themselves and the offer they make. What has happened is that the government at that level intervened with our government and we were asked to sit down and settle; and they were now ready to make an offer."

Representatives of Pfizer stated their desire to resolve the dispute quickly to enable the firm focus on its core business operations in Nigeria.

Pfizer has meanwhile asked the federal high court in Abuja to set aside the report of a government panel which investigated the drug trial. The panel's conclusions form a key aspect of the lawsuit⁶ instituted against Pfizer.

1 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

2 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

5 averse   

adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的

参考例句：

• I don't smoke cigarettes,but I'm not averse to the occasional cigar.我不吸烟，但我不反对偶尔抽一支雪茄。
• We are averse to such noisy surroundings.我们不喜欢这么吵闹的环境。

6 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。