The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has intensified its nationwide crackdown on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml after uncovering widespread violations during a mop-up enforcement operation across the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed that the operation revealed some manufacturers were still producing the banned products despite the Federal Government’s prohibition and repeated warnings by the Agency.
Prof. Adeyeye explained that the ban is a critical public health intervention aimed at protecting children, adolescents, and other vulnerable groups from the harmful effects of alcohol abuse.
According to her, the enforcement exercise is in line with Senate resolutions directing NAFDAC to implement the ban without further extensions and intensify public sensitisation in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Orientation Agency (NOA), and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
She noted that the ban followed years of stakeholder engagement and moratoriums granted to manufacturers, emphasising that the Agency had clearly communicated the commencement of full enforcement through a joint nationwide campaign launched earlier this year.
The Director-General disclosed that enforcement operations across Lagos, Ogun, and several other states uncovered widespread non-compliance, with NAFDAC teams discovering that some manufacturers were still producing banned alcoholic beverages. She added that packaging materials recovered during the operation bore production dates as recent as July 2026, indicating continued violations of the ban.
“The Agency also uncovered attempts to evade regulatory oversight, including the relocation of production equipment to unregistered facilities and the removal of company signboards to conceal illegal operations,” she said.
Adeyeye described the actions as deliberate violations of Federal Government directives and warned that all offending facilities would be shut down and sanctioned in accordance with the law.
She also condemned attacks on NAFDAC enforcement officers during the nationwide operation, describing the assaults as criminal acts against public officers carrying out lawful duties.
The Director-General revealed that one enforcement officer was nearly stabbed while another was physically assaulted during the operation. She assured Nigerians that all those responsible would be investigated and prosecuted, stressing that intimidation or violence would not deter the Agency from carrying out its statutory responsibility to protect public health.
Adeyeye reaffirmed that the ban on sachet alcohol and alcoholic beverages packaged in PET bottles below 200ml remains fully in force and is not subject to negotiation.
She urged manufacturers, distributors, retailers and members of the public to comply with the regulation and report any continued production or sale of the banned products to NAFDAC.
The Director-General affirmed that the Agency would sustain its nationwide mop-up operations until all prohibited products are removed from circulation, in line with its mandate to safeguard the health and future of Nigerians, particularly children and young people.
