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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has discovered widespread non-compliance with the Nigerian Government’s ban on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml, revealing that some manufacturers are still producing the prohibited products months after full enforcement began.
The agency said nationwide enforcement operations across Lagos, Ogun and several other states exposed deliberate attempts by manufacturers to evade regulatory oversight, including relocating production equipment to unregistered facilities and concealing illegal operations.
Speaking at a press briefing, NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the discoveries reflect the agency’s resolve to strictly enforce the ban, which she described as a critical public health measure to protect children, adolescents and other vulnerable groups from alcohol abuse.
Adeyeye explained that the enforcement drive follows Senate resolutions directing the agency to implement the ban without further extensions while intensifying public awareness campaigns in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Orientation Agency and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
She noted that manufacturers had been given years of stakeholder consultations and moratoriums before the ban took full effect.
“The ban followed years of stakeholder engagement and moratoriums granted to manufacturers,” she said, adding that NAFDAC had already announced the commencement of full enforcement through a joint nationwide sensitisation campaign earlier this year.
According to the director-general, recent inspections uncovered widespread disregard for the regulation.
“Recent enforcement operations across Lagos, Ogun, and several other states revealed widespread non-compliance,” Adeyeye said.
“NAFDAC teams discovered that some manufacturers were still producing banned products, with packaging materials bearing production dates as recent as July 2026.”
She said investigators also uncovered sophisticated efforts to circumvent the law.
“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.”
Describing the actions as deliberate violations of government directives, Adeyeye warned that the agency would not hesitate to sanction offenders.
She also condemned attacks on enforcement officers during the nationwide operation, describing them as criminal acts against public officials carrying out lawful duties. She disclosed that one officer was nearly stabbed while another was physically assaulted during enforcement activities, adding that all those responsible would be investigated and prosecuted.
“Intimidation or violence will not deter the Agency from carrying out its statutory responsibility to protect public health,” she said.
Reaffirming the agency’s position, Adeyeye stressed that the prohibition remains fully in force. She urged manufacturers, distributors, retailers and consumers to comply with the regulation and report any continued production or sale of the banned products.
Manufacturers were granted transition periods before NAFDAC commenced full nationwide enforcement earlier this year.
📢 NAFDAC is intensifying its nationwide enforcement against the production, distribution, and sale of banned sachet alcohol and alcoholic beverages packaged in PET bottles below 200ml.
Recent enforcement operations have uncovered deliberate violations by some manufacturers,… pic.twitter.com/acAkA3KqbD
— NAFDAC NIGERIA (@NafdacAgency) July 28, 2026
